抖阴短视频

CHICAGO: US President Joe Biden publicly denounced 抖阴短视频 as a 鈥減ariah鈥� while privately sending back-channel emissaries to try to restore the relationship between the two allies, an influential analyst has told Arab News.

Elise Labott, the former global affairs correspondent with the broadcaster CNN who is now a columnist with Politico magazine, had access to highly placed US and Saudi sources 鈥� both on and off the record 鈥� for an article published recently in the magazine.

Speaking on 鈥淭he Ray Hanania Show,鈥� which is produced by Arab News and broadcast weekly on the US Arab Radio network, she said: 鈥淟et鈥檚 be honest, I don鈥檛 think that President Biden ever really intended to treat 抖阴短视频 as a pariah when he came to office and make that his policy, but the politics kind of got in the way and they were trying to move forward on the policy, but in secret because of the politics. After a while, the Saudis did want to repair the relationship. So, they did a lot of what the US asked them to do.

鈥淏ut finally, they were just like, all right, in or out? There have been a series of visits over the course of the last year or so. National security adviser Jake Sullivan went out there. CIA director Bill Burns went out there.鈥�

Labott said there was a recognition in the White House that 鈥渢here are problems in the relationship 鈥� on the wider human rights front, but then whether it's security, or economically or in the region, the Saudis are a valuable partner and the US does need to reset the relationship.鈥�

Other issues encouraged a recalibration, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and soaring fuel prices in the US, Labott said.

鈥淚 think that when President Biden was on the campaign trail as a candidate he promised, of course, to treat 抖阴短视频 as a pariah state, make them pay the price, and for a while they were pretty standoffish, but I think as time wore on, and certainly the war in Ukraine was really a catalyst for this, the US saw that the relationship with 抖阴短视频 was too big to fail. And so, you had rising gas prices. You had the war inUkraine. You had a whole host of things where the US would look to that solid partner over the years, 抖阴短视频 鈥� this is a 75-year-old relationship.

鈥淎nd because the Saudis, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in particular, were being kind of ostracized, finally they had had enough. Even though President Biden was saying this in public, in private he was sending emissaries to 抖阴短视频 to say look, we want to reset the relationship. We want to move forward.

鈥淎nd kind of in secret almost, there was this back-channel diplomacy going on for the last year or so in which the two sides were trying to make progress on a whole host of issues.鈥�

Labott said Saudi influence on the global price of oil amid US domestic anger over the cost of fuel at the pumps was a driver of White House thinking 鈥� but far from the only one. 鈥淲ell, a lot of people are reducing it to the oil and the Saudis are the biggest swing producer,鈥� she said.

鈥淭he US is looking to them to stabilize markets, everyone is going to fill their car with gas at the pump, its over $5 and some places it鈥檚 $7, so the initial thought is can we get the Saudis to increase oil production so that will ease the pain?

鈥淚 think that the Saudis ultimately are playing hard to get, with the US having agreed to some oil production, I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 going to make much of a difference for the US economy in the long run, that鈥檚 what experts say.

鈥淚 think if it is anything from stabilizing some of the economies in the region like Lebanon, for instance, or playing a mediator in Iraq or reaching out to Iran. Normalization with Israel. And then there is, you know, 抖阴短视频 is on the Red Sea and there is a whole keeping trade lanes open in the Red Sea and mediating with Africa.

鈥淚f you look across the globe, most major foreign policy issues particularly in that part of the world, 抖阴短视频 is the 鈥榞orilla in the room,鈥� and you can鈥檛 really get anything done if you don鈥檛 have them on the inside.鈥�

Washington had functional relationships with many states without agreeing with them on every issue, Labott said, and it was important for the US to realize that it could not bend a country to its will. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 in the UAE or Saudi or Bahrain or these Gulf states, they鈥檙e monarchies they鈥檙e not democracies, but if you ask the people by and large there鈥檚 not a lot of dissent 鈥� if you ask the Saudis whether they approve of Mohammed bin Salman, if you held an election, I think he鈥檇 win hands down. I think it鈥檚 recognizing these leaders as imperfect as they are and trying to find a way to move forward instead of trying to bend them to our will.鈥�

As for what the US expected of 抖阴短视频, Labott said: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just showing that leadership in the region that the US is looking for and that could be anything from standing on the right side of democracy against the war in Ukraine.

鈥淲e have one goal right now and that鈥檚 to beat Putin, and we need the Saudis to help us do that, so that means not doing anything with the oil market that will embolden President Putin 鈥� maybe not supporting sanctions in the way the US wants them to, but don鈥檛 do anything that will help President Putin, and I think if the Saudis want to be that leader, that鈥檚 what the US is looking for them to do.鈥�
The radio show also featured an interview with Fahad Nazer, spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, who said that contrary to the views of some pundits there was a genuine appreciation in Washington of the important role played by 抖阴短视频 and the significance of the relationship with the US. Biden鈥檚 decision to visit 抖阴短视频 next month as part of his first Middle East trip was evidence of that, Nazer said.

鈥淭his dialogue goes a long way but I think there is an appreciation in Washington, as far as I can tell among congressional leaders and in the administration, that 抖阴短视频 plays a very important role globally 鈥� in stabilizing international energy markets,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e play an important role in helping bring stability and helping resolve some of the political crises in the region including the Yemen war 鈥� and we have played the leading role over the years in pushing back onmilitant non-state actors like Daesh, Al-Qaeda, the Houthis, Hezbollah and others. So, I think there is an appreciation for that very constructive role that the Kingdom plays.鈥�

Nazer confirmed that Biden would hold separate meetings during his visit with King Salman and the crown prince, with a wide range of issues on the agenda. 鈥淭he two leaders will discuss bilateral cooperation and joint efforts to address regional and global challenges including some of the newer challenges that the international community faces including cyber security, climate change, and environmental initiatives,鈥� he said.

鈥淎t the same time the Kingdom is hosting a summit that will include the leaders of the GCC countries as well as the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, and obviously President Biden will be attending that as well.鈥�

Arab countries remained critically important role players in these discussions with 鈥渙ur most important strategic ally in the world,鈥� Nazer said.

The Ray Hanania Show is broadcast live every Wednesday at 5 p.m. Eastern EST on WNZK AM 690 radio in Greater Detroit including parts of Ohio, and WDMV AM 700 radio in Washington DC including parts of Virginia and Maryland. The show is rebroadcast on Thursdays at 7 a.m. in Detroit on WNZK AM 690 and in Chicago at 12 noon on WNWI AM 1080.

You can listen to the radio show podcast here: www.arabnews.com/RayRadioShow