The announcement on Tuesday that President Joe Biden will visit Saudi Arabia next month is no surprise: the White House has been preparing the ground for days. And the president’s decision to visit, as well as lawmakers’ reactions to the trip, fit a predominant pattern of US-Saudi relations: Washington backs away from disgust over Saudi behavior that conflicts with their values, and then back to their marriage of convenience. due to the oil wealth of the kingdom and the critical strategic position.
While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer defended Biden’s upcoming meetings with the Saudis on Tuesday, Illinois Senate Majority Sen. Dick Durbin, Schumer’s No. 2, and other Democratic leaders show their concern.
Durbin told CNN that he has “concerns” about Biden’s trip and asked the president to change his plans, but that he understands why Biden decided to participate in the visit.
“I have concerns about that. I think the Saudis have shown that they do not share our values. The episode with Khashoggi is an international incident of historic proportions. I can’t help it,” Durbin said, adding: “It’s A difficult call, to maintain energy services for our allies and NATO, to do something to increase the world’s oil supply, perhaps to drive down gas prices, all of which are timely and important, but I’m sorry I have to do it with the Saudis. ”
Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN that the trip was a “very bad idea.”
“His blood stain hasn’t been cleaned,” Kaine said. “And I understand that circumstances are changing. But what’s the fundamental problem in the world right now? They’re the authoritarians … I don’t think you’re saying,” Well, circumstances are changing. We sit down with a killer who killed. a journalist who lives in Virginia. ‘ I think that’s a big mistake. I would meet with others: I would meet with (the) Minister of Foreign Affairs. I would meet with the Saudi ambassador. I would meet with the King, but not with MBS. . ”
Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, another Senate Foreign Minister, said he has some “real concerns,” adding: “I think I need to hear more from the administration to understand what kind of commitments they have. received from the kingdom. change their ways “.
Durbin’s Republican counterpart, Republican Whip of the Senate John Thune of South Dakota, also had trouble with the trip, saying, “I just want him to focus on American energy and not have to deal with the prince. heir “.
“He has expressed his concern about going there in the past for all the obvious reasons. I think it’s unfortunate that an American president is in that position, “Thune added.
There is no doubt that Biden is making his journey to persuade the Saudis to pump more crude oil to help alleviate the political impact of record gasoline prices in the United States. His visit also comes as a new crisis looms over Saudi enemy archery Iran, which may soon cross the threshold of building a nuclear bomb. To quell the controversy, the White House is planning Biden’s visit to a nation he called “an outcast.” for the brutal assassination of Khashoggi, for whom American intelligence determined that the Crown Prince was responsible, as part of a regional peace initiative. The president will attend a summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council over Egypt, Jordan and Iraq in Jeddah after visiting Israel to show his support for the warming of Jewish state relations with anti-Arab neighbors. iranians.
There will be bilateral meetings with King Salman and his team, in which the White House hopes to include the Crown Prince. And White House officials have broadly said that Biden plans to raise human rights issues with bin Salman and the Saudis during their talks, but they have also repeatedly stressed that the president is looking to reorient his relationship with the nation. ‘Middle East.
“We are not ignoring any conduct that took place before the president took office,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday regarding Khashoggi’s death, noting that Biden ” to issue an “extensive report” by the intelligence community on the murder of the journalist. .
“It simply came to our notice then [recalibrate] relations, we do not seek to break relations, but human rights issues, the conversation about human rights, is something that the president raises with many leaders and plans to do so, “he continued.
Jean-Pierre also praised Saudi Arabia for being “a strategic partner of the United States for almost 80 years,” adding that “there is no doubt that important interests are intertwined with Saudi Arabia, in particular the United States. recent enlargement of the truce in Yemen, which has saved countless lives. ”
9/11 Families United, an organization formed by the families of individuals killed during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, sent a letter to the president earlier this month urging him to ensure that the responsibility of 9/11 attacks should be a key priority of their discussions with Saudi officials.
National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday that Biden is expected to discuss a “wide variety of human rights issues” with the Crown Prince during the trip, but did not say whether the 9/9 concerns. During the next talks, 11 families will be formed.
And while the Saudis say they will hold official talks with the United States, Kirby declined to definitively characterize the meetings between Biden and the Saudi government, adding that the president will hold “many bilateral talks” with the United States. nine heads of state attended the meeting, adding: “And yes, it will certainly include King Salman and his leadership team and we hope that the Crown Prince will be part of these discussions.”
Still, there is no sugar.
Sometimes presidents have to do things they find unpleasant or seem hypocritical to move forward in what they perceive to be the national interest, that’s what Biden is doing here. But his visit sends a message to states such as Saudi Arabia, that while the US is embarking on what appears to be a new Cold War with China and Russia, repressive behavior is no obstacle to relations with a president. which puts the salvation of global democracy at the center of its foreign policy.
Biden, for example, praised Bin Salman’s “courage” in extending a truce in Yemen. But it was MBS who started the cruel war that killed thousands of civilians. So Jean-Pierre’s statement on Tuesday that the Saudi measure had saved “countless” lives in the country was quite deaf.
Once a pariah. But not anymore.
CNN’s Maegan Vazquez, Ted Barrett, Manu Raju and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.