Biden is set to land in Saudi Arabia today (Friday) to suck up to those who he said he would never treat as a “pariah state” in a last-ditch attempt at knocking some money off America’s ever-increasing gas prices.
But will all the groveling even work, or will Biden leave the desert with a briefcase full of sand, only to return to untamable inflation and a nation which will call him a kowtowing hypocrite?
According to Fox, Biden’s primary objective during his Middle Eastern tour is to secure a gas deal with Saudi in exchange for ensuring Iran stays away from nuclear weapons but repairing the damaged relationship between the US and Saudi won’t be an easy task.
“It is unclear if Saudi Arabia will pump more oil, because those decisions are mostly driven by their energy policy leaders’ assessments of global market dynamics and what’s good for their country’s economic and strategic interests,” vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute in Washington, Brian Katulis told Fox.
Marine One arriving at Ben Gurion Airport. @POTUS now heads to Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/u3ZBaCcirK
— Hamdah Salhut (@hamdahsalhut) July 15, 2022
“The Biden team would like to see prices go down, and it has been asking for Saudi Arabia to add more supply, but the decision mostly depends on their own decisions based on the assessment of the global market and less on requests from the United States or any other individual country.”
As oil prices continue to rise across the globe following the war in [redacted], Biden has continually sought to patch things up with Saudi Arabia, but earlier this year, the president’s requests to speak to the oil rich nation’s officials on the phone was denied.
But like with any form of trade, if the price is right, a deal can be made. Saudi, which produces around 15 percent of the world’s oil supply, wants protection by the United States from an ever-increasingly volatile Iran.
“If cajoled enough, given enough in return, likely yes,” said Daniel Pipes, president of the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum when questioned by Fox about the likelihood of a deal being struck to cool America’s prices at the pumps.
According to Pipes, in return for cheaper oil, the Saudis want, “protection against Iran, respect for the changes underway [the reforms in the Kingdom], a favorable market for its oil sales.”
Negotiations will be tricky, especially as the US has endured a hot and cold relationship with Saudi Arabia over recent years – particularly after the murder of US based journalist, Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, who was killed in Istanbul by Saudi authorities.
Of course Abu Akleh’s killing is not the only journalist’s killing being swept under the rug. Biden goes on to Saudi Arabia to whitewash the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. #WarCrimes #EndIsraeliApartheid #USA #Israel pic.twitter.com/phfnuriFl6
— “Solidarity is a verb” (@SaveSJarrah) July 13, 2022
“A relationship going back to 1945 is now in question. Is the U.S. government going indefinitely to make a single atrocity the centerpiece of its policy?” questioned Pipes in relation to Khashoggi’s murder.
“Will the Saudi monarchy toward China? In all likelihood, things will go back to something like their old normal, but this must be positively affirmed, as it will not happen by itself,” he added.
According to experts, Biden will most likely attempt to strike a deal with Iran by reinstating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which would relieve sanctions on Iran in exchange for its assurance it won’t amass nuclear weapons.
This tactic has long been scrutinized as many experts argue that a richer Iran means more funding for terrorist activities.
On the agenda of important matters to discuss for Biden and the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salam will probably be the president’s alternative plan where Iran is concerned.
Biden’s responses will be instrumental in the arrangement of an oil deal with the Saudis.
This story syndicated with permission from Jo Marney, Author at Trending Politics
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