Biden Caves to the Saudis

Joe Lieberman reminds us that he absolutely does not want any agreement with Iran:

Akbar Shahid Ahmed reports on the Biden administration’s unwillingness to hold the Saudi government accountable for its crimes, including the crimes of the crown prince:

For now, Biden’s team has signaled that it sees the prince as a partner who is going nowhere – and whom Washington does not want to anger because he could threaten the president’s foreign policy agenda.

The Biden administration wants to make it seem as if it is making a difficult trade-off in order to achieve some other important goals, but the reality is that they are just caving to the Saudis and letting Mohammed bin Salman off the hook because it is easier than honoring Biden’s campaign promises. Supporters of the status quo with Riyadh exaggerate how important the relationship is to discourage any pressure from Washington, but it is hard to think of any significant item on Biden’s foreign policy agenda where the Saudi government is a potentially useful partner rather than an impediment or adversary. Then again, as Kate Kizer observed today, it is hard to identify what Biden’s foreign policy agenda is supposed to be now.

On Yemen, where the need to pressure the Saudis is greatest, Biden has been the most timid. Far from cutting off their weapons supplies, his administration has approved two fairly large contracts for helicopter maintenance and missiles. Asma Rassem recently called on the administration to use all leverage at its disposal to press the Saudis to end the blockade of Yemen.

Read the rest of the article at Eunomia

Daniel Larison is a weekly columnist for Antiwar.com and maintains his own site at Eunomia. He is former senior editor at The American Conservative. He has been published in the New York Times Book Review, Dallas Morning News, World Politics Review, Politico Magazine, Orthodox Life, Front Porch Republic, The American Scene, and Culture11, and was a columnist for The Week. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, and resides in Lancaster, PA. Follow him on Twitter.