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Biden's first presidential trip to the Middle East
President Joe Biden today capped a four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, his first trip to the Middle East since taking office.The President started his trip by meeting with Israeli leaders toexpand security ties with the nation and discuss countering efforts by Iran to destabilize the region.
He next went to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he attempted to reassure regional leaders -- and the rest of the world -- that his administration remains committed to actively engaging in the Middle East and not allowing Russia or China to expand their geopolitical influence.
On Friday, he sought a reset of relations with the Saudis as he looked for ways to lower high gas prices in the US, which have contributed to a significant drop in Biden's approval ratings.
That reset began with a widely criticized fist bump with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, whom the US has accused of sanctioning journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
Biden said he raised Khashoggi's murder directly with the Crown Prince and indicated he believes MBS was responsible for it, as he emphasized the US commitment to human rights.
Last edited by Spunky (7/16/2022 9:27 pm)
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Re: Biden's first presidential trip to the Middle East
That reset began with a widely criticized fist bump with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, whom the US has accused of sanctioning journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
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Thread Starter- Spunky
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Re: Biden's first presidential trip to the Middle East
It was the meeting with MBS that produced the most [url=*3A*2F*2Fwww.washingtonpost.com*2Fopinions*2F2022*2F07*2F11*2Fbiden-saudi-trip-post-publisher-fred-ryan*2F&userId=3243276&signature=48dadc9b6a32b20c__;JSUlJSUlJSUl!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!mULvPGgNy3T-Cw84xGXaRl10P-rDLSgxySobFCcpyVbzDkcneudIR-N044lKL6bpvHBsxu8os51glVCaeEXX$]caustic criticism[/url].
The brash 36-year-old's ruthlessness was never a secret, but the depth of his cruelty shocked even the most jaded realists in 2018 when his agents [url=*3A*2F*2Fwww.cnn.com*2F2018*2F10*2F16*2Fmiddleeast*2Fkhashoggi-turkish-investigation-intl*2Findex.html&userId=3243276&signature=efb28cf078dfdd80__;JSUlJSUlJSUl!!AQdq3sQhfUj4q8uUguY!mULvPGgNy3T-Cw84xGXaRl10P-rDLSgxySobFCcpyVbzDkcneudIR-N044lKL6bpvHBsxu8os51glWgXDrdA$]lured, murdered and dismembered[/url] the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the regime.
US intelligence concluded that MBS had ordered the assassination. He denies it. (Disclosure: Khashoggi was a contributing columnist at the Washington Post.
Last edited by Spunky (7/17/2022 8:39 pm)
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