March 2, 2021
THE END IS DEMOCRACY:
Biden retreats from vow to make pariah of Saudis (ELLEN KNICKMEYER, 3/02/21, AP)
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised to make a pariah out of Saudi Arabia over the 2018 killing of dissident Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi. But when it came time to actually punish Saudi Arabia's crown prince, America's strategic interests prevailed.The Biden administration made clear Friday it would forgo sanctions or any other major penalty against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Khashoggi killing, even after a US intelligence report concluded the prince ordered it.The decision highlights how the real-time decisions of diplomacy often collide with the righteousness of the moral high ground. And nowhere is this conundrum more stark than in the United States' complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia -- the world's oil giant, a US arms customer and a counterbalance to Iran in the Middle East.
Making the Sa'uds an enemy, not an ally. But Joe is a Republican.
Posted by Orrin Judd at March 2, 2021 12:00 AM