Biden ‘lets Saudi murderer walk’
President Joe Biden is facing a backlash in America after deciding not to punish Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his alleged role in the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A storm of criticism in the media and Congress followed the decision, which was viewed as cynical realpolitik from a president who promised to make human rights and accountability a top priority.
‘‘Mohammed bin Salman is guilty of murder, Biden should not give him a pass,’’ was the headline of the Washington Post’s editorial yesterday. Khashoggi, who was murdered in Istanbul in 2018, was a regular columnist at the Post.
A CIA report released on Saturday confirmed the widely held assumption that Khashoggi’s murder was approved by the crown prince, who is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. It based its conclusion on his tight grip on Saudi decision-making, the role of his security detail and a top adviser in the operation, and his own broader support for ‘‘violent measures’’ to silence dissidents abroad.
The Biden administration responded to the report by implementing a new ‘‘Khashoggi ban’’ that bars anyone involved in harassing journalists from entering America. The first targets are 76 Saudis who have been engaged in threatening dissidents abroad, including some involved in Khashoggi’s death.
Conspicuously absent from the list, however, is MBS, as the crown prince is known. The
Democratic congressman Adam Schiff said the prince had ‘‘blood on his hands’’ and should face repercussions. ‘‘That President Biden has chosen not to pursue that course suggests that the ’fundamental’ change he promised in Us-saudi relations will not include holding to account its reckless ruler,’’ thundered The Washington Post.
In The New York Times, the influential columnist Nick Kristof complained that Biden had ‘‘let a Saudi murderer walk’’ and accused the president of ‘‘choking’’ and sending a ‘‘weak message’’.
The disappointment was amplified by the fact that Biden had talked up his desire to get tough with Saudi Arabia, threatening to make it a ‘‘pariah’’ state for its human rights record in the civil war in neighbouring Yemen and describing it as having ‘‘no redeeming social value’’.
Last month Biden froze arms sales to Saudi Arabia and ended support for its military operations in Yemen. But his decision on MBS ultimately reflects pragmatism not idealism: America needs Saudi cooperation on anti-terrorism, as a key player in the energy market and as a counterweight to Iranian ambition in the Middle East. Biden decided he could not afford to alienate its most powerful subject, despite his promises to do just that.
‘‘The problem is Biden set expectations all wrong,’’ said Damir Marusic, a fellow at the Atlantic Council, a centrist think tank.
‘‘His language on Saudi gave everyone the impression he was going to take a really harsh stance. Instead we get a lot of tough human rights talk but not much action.’’ – Sunday Times