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Editor’s Note: Jason D. Greenblatt serves as the White House Middle East Special Envoy in the Trump Administration. he is”diplomat“Newsweek Podcast and New Book Author”on abraham’s path. ” follow him @GreenblattJD. The views expressed in this review are his own.view more comments on CNN.
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After 25 hours of watching Yom Kippur offline, I turned on my phone and the news came flooding in.The most compelling story is the OPEC+ decision Dramatically reduce oil productionwhich is understandable Washington was shocked.
therefore, Some Democratic lawmakers are agitating withdraw all U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, request a decision It was “a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in the war against Ukraine”, “despite President (Joe) Biden’s courtship of both countries in recent months”.
I think what is happening in Ukraine is brutal.I also don’t like paying higher gas prices than the next person, especially in this crazy inflation world We live in it. But the lawmakers’ allegations are false, dishonest and largely political.
While the OPEC+ decision did hurt the United States, we cannot ignore the fact that these countries have their own national interests and strategies. Saudi ArabiaThis United Arab Emirates Others have grand, country-changing plans that are staggering in scope and prohibitively expensive. We have no right to tell them to put their plans on hold and sell their valuable assets to us at a discount.
Likewise, arguing, such as Senator Dick Durbin arguesIt is unrealistic to think that U.S. foreign policy can be imagined “without a (Saudi) alliance,” and is against the interests of the United States and our allies in the Middle East.
The lawmakers also criticized Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for making decisions despite Biden’s courtship with them. This is a distorted view.If we take Saudi Arabia as an example, recall that as a candidate, Biden said we need to recalibrate the US-Saudi relationship, he would not sell more weapons to the Saudis, and vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “untouchable”, and said”Little to no social redemption value“In the current government of the kingdom.
Biden did not take office Threats to Saudi Arabia (or UAE) seriously; he mostly pays oral service against such attacks.
If Biden had approached the kingdom differently from the start, no proposal would be needed.Instead, after he tried to kick the kingdom and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the side of the road, then feebly tried to use short trip and fist bumpthose critics were disappointed that the president’s brief visit to the kingdom did not produce the expected results.
Biden was reportedly disappointed by the OPEC+ decision “while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s invasion of Ukraine”. a statement From National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan and White House National Economic Council Director Brian Diess.
Let’s consider that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others may reverse this statement in a pinch. There is no doubt that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others are disappointed, or more likely angry, Biden’s relentless attempt Sign a weak, short and extremely dangerous deal with Iran.
Biden has at least tempered his public comments, in stark contrast to what some of his fellow Democrats have called for. their unbelievably amazing ideas Withdraw all U.S. troops and military equipment from the Kingdom and the UAE. Doing so would lead to more instability in the Middle East and would undoubtedly backfire.
While these monarchies do deserve (and I believe they do) thank the United States for everything America has done to help them, our relationship with these countries is a two-way street. America benefits greatly from our troops and equipment there. If we don’t, people and equipment won’t be there. Let’s not pretend that we put the interests of other countries ahead of our own. Likewise, we should not ask other nations to put our interests ahead of theirs.
Biden also said, “We are looking for alternatives‘ Oil from OPEC+ countries.This is fair as long as it doesn’t involve making deals with cruel, brutal regimes or easing sanctions, such as Iran or VenezuelaInstead, he should focus on increasing domestic energy production again.
How many times do we need to study the same lessons? Look at Europe and see what happens to us.it will become cold and expensive european winter. Let’s stop hypocritical calls for clean energy while demanding higher output from energy-producing countries. This game does nothing to make our planet cleaner. The world is not ready to move away from fossil fuels.
It’s time for us to recognize that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the rest of the region are powerful, mobile, not American vassals. It is also time for us to recognize that the world is governed by reality and practicality, and hopefully work with lofty goals. We can still be a great nation and make the world a better place while living these truths.
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