- In his fever to undo every vestige of the Trump presidency, Biden undermined the extraordinary progress made by the Trump administration towards peace in the Middle East by “recalibrating” our relationship with Saudi Arabia.
- Trump orchestrated the Abraham Accords among Israel the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco a genuine breakthrough in improving relations among bitter enemies while ring-fencing a belligerent Iran. Instead of attempting to build on that achievement, Biden torpedoed it.
- Biden froze arms sales to the UAE, which had been promised as part of the deal in exchange for signing the accords.
- He halted military aid to the Saudi-led coalition fighting against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
- He rescinded the terrorist organization designation applied to the Houthis by the Trump administration thereby emboldening the Houthis to step up their attacks on Saudi Arabia, which they did when they attacked the Abha airport in Saudi Arabia three days later.
- The crowning blow to our improved realignment of interests in the Middle East, however, was Biden’s decision to insult the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS by releasing an intelligence assessment citing that MBS was responsible for orchestrating the murder of Jamal Khashoggi
- Biden then doubled down on this affront by announcing that he would not speak to the Saudi leader but rather, communicate with his father, the ailing Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz
- In response, Saudi Arabia announced it would not increase oil output, despite rising world oil prices.
- Oil prices jumped on the news, popping 4 percent to pre-pandemic levels for the first time in a year and are at a 13-month high.
- It then took Biden a full month before he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, our strongest ally in the Middle East, and only after reaching out to more than a dozen other heads of state.
- Additionally, 80,000 immigrants tried to cross the border illegally in January, double the number compared with January a year ago.
- The number of minors arriving per day is now four times higher than in October
- The U.S. Border Patrol has already begun releasing migrants into U.S. towns on the border.
- It’s projected that an astonishing 117,000 unaccompanied minors will show up at the border this year
- The number of migrants kids is on pace to set a record, and there aren’t nearly enough beds to accommodate them – the Border Patrol says they will need at least 20,000 more beds.
- Health and Human Services, which takes custody of minors, has begun expediting their release to adults in the U.S., and paying their transportation costs.
- Biden is reopening detention facilities at the border that he criticized the Trump administration for as “inhumane.”
If you’re reading this, I hope you pass this on…
Discover more from L.S. "Butch" Mazzuca
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Recent Comments