President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia was occasionally uncomfortable but, in his view, ultimately necessary.
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Before setting foot in Saudi Arabia, President Joe Biden knew there would be trouble.
“We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia, or Iran,” Biden said. “We will seek to build on this moment with active, principled American leadership.” President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal reached under President Barack Obama, and Tehran is believed to be closer than ever to building a nuclear weapon.
Although Biden expressed a renewed commitment to the region by saying “the United States is not going anywhere,” he also seemed to acknowledge some limitations. “The United States is clear-eyed about the challenges in the Middle East and about where we have the greatest capacity to help drive positive outcomes,” he said.
The encounter began Friday with a fist bump outside the royal palace in Jeddah, a chummy gesture that was swiftly criticized because of Mohammed’s history of human rights abuses. In addition to cracking down on his critics in Saudi Arabia, the prince, according to U.S. intelligence, likely approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi nearly four years ago.
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