But Biden’s government approach as president has been far less black and white, as it seeks to balance such lofty principles with pragmatism in a world mingled with the economic implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerns about its global ambitions. China, rising tensions over Iran’s progressive nuclear program and more. These crossroads became apparent last week when Biden hosted the US Summit in Los Angeles, where his decision to oust leaders he considers dictators caused a great deal of drama and prompted many other world leaders to boycott the event. “We do not always agree on everything, but because we are democracies, we treat our differences with mutual respect and dialogue,” Biden told the summit as he tried to settle differences. Although Biden excluded a trio of leaders from the rally, his national security team was preparing for a possible visit to Saudi Arabia, an oil-rich kingdom that the president described as a “pariah” state in the early days of White’s success. House run. After Biden took office, his government made it clear that the president would avoid direct involvement with the de facto leader, the successor to the throne, Mohammed bin Salman, after US intelligence officials concluded that he was likely to the assassination and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Kasogi in 2018. If his visit to Saudi Arabia goes as expected, Biden is expected to meet with Mohammed. Biden’s tough debate during the election campaign – and earlier in his presidency – with the Saudis was part of a broader message he sent to the Americans: The days of white checks for dictators and powerful men must end if the United States wants to have credibility on the world stage. Lately, however, such sharp rhetoric with principles has given way to a bigger nod in realpolitik. At a time of rising gas pump prices, an increasingly fragile situation in the Middle East and growing concern that China is expanding its global footprint, Biden and his national security team have decided that freezing the Saudis simply cannot to be supported, according to a person familiar with the White House who is considering a visit to Saudi Arabia that has not yet been finalized and spoke only on condition of anonymity. The vague lines about who will get involved and who will not get involved have left the White House faced with a difficult question: How can the president invoke the principle of rejecting the commitment of dictators in his backyard, even when he is thinking of call on Saudi officials who have used mass arrests and macabre violence to quell dissent? “President Biden has pledged to put human rights and democracy at the heart of our foreign policy. “It is,” Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken told reporters during a news conference at the close of the summit on Friday. “That does not mean it is the whole.” However, Edward Franz, a history historian at Indianapolis University, sees signs that Biden has “fallen into the same trap” as his Middle East predecessors. President Jimmy Carter, who said human rights were central to his foreign policy, looked beyond the bloodthirsty reputation of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. President George W. Bush has stopped supporting an uprising against Saddam Hussein as his advisers warned that Iraq would plunge into a civil war without a strong man. US administrations, from President Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, have ignored the torture and arbitrary detention of the Hosni Mubarak government in Egypt for the sake of a credible strategic partner in a difficult corner of the world. “It is remarkable that Biden is being forced to relinquish his position to the Saudis largely because he has maintained a principled stance on Ukraine,” Franz said. “But it’s hard not to see here the same patterns that have been in place for the last 80 years.” Human rights groups and even some of the president’s Democratic allies warn Biden that a visit to Saudi Arabia could be dangerous. Six Democrats in the House of Representatives, including the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Siff, of California, wrote to Biden last week that if he decided to visit, he would have to serve America’s national interests “and pressure Saudi officials on oil production, human rights and alleged ballistic missile sales from China to the kingdom. “President Biden must recognize that any meeting with a foreign official gives them immediate credibility on the world stage, whether they intend to or not,” said Lama Fakih, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “A meeting with Mohammed bin Salman without human rights commitments will vindicate Saudi leaders who believe there are no consequences for blatant human rights abuses.” Even when Biden sided with the Saudis, he pledged to keep the dictators of the Western Hemisphere away from the summit in his backyard. The decision was taken seriously by some allies. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the leaders of Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Bolivia have chosen to skip the summit because of Biden’s decision to oust the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela and Venezuela. The President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, and the Prime Minister of Belize, John Briceño, were among those who appeared but publicly criticized Biden’s move. “Geography, not politics, determines America,” Briceño said. Prior to taking office, Biden did not question the shortcomings of his fellow leaders, especially those with less than spectacular record as pro-democracy, but thanks to President Donald Trump. When Biden met with Bolsonaro on the sidelines of the US summit on Thursday, the commitment was undoubtedly civilized. Biden made no reference to the Brazilian leader’s baseless allegations about his country’s electoral systems and to baseless allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 US election. Bolsonaro, the most prominent Latin American leader to attend the summit, had agreed to attend on the condition that Biden meet him privately and avoid confronting him over some of the most contentious issues between the two. men, according to three of The Cabinet of Ministers of the Brazilian leader asked to remain anonymous to discuss the issue. White House officials said no conditions had been set for the talks. In recent weeks, top Biden advisers and NATO officials have been working to persuade Erdogan to back down from his threats to prevent historically neutral Sweden and Finland from joining NATO. Last week, Biden and his government were reluctant to praise Saudi Arabia for its role in pushing OPEC + to increase oil production for July and August. Biden even called the kingdom “courageous” because it agreed to extend the ceasefire in the seven-year war with Yemen. Douglas London, a former CIA officer who has spent 34 years in the Middle East, South and Central Asia and is a fellow at the Middle East Institute, said the change in Biden’s tone represents an unpleasant reality: Prince Mohammed, known as MBS, is someone the US will probably have to deal with in the coming years. “Yes, we remember how the president referred to the MBS as the dictator of a rogue state that the United States was going to teach a lesson,” London wrote in an analysis. “Synchronization in politics and foreign policy, as well as in life, is very important and it is important to remember that the average price of oil when Biden’s candidate said it was $ 41 a barrel.” Now, it is around $ 120 a barrel.
Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in Los Angeles and Mauricio Savares in Sao Paulo, Brazil, contributed to this report.
