President Biden initially didn't want to travel to Saudi Arabia, but was convinced it would improve stability in the region.
formally ends Friday when Air Force One touches down in this coastal city, but it took 18 months of tense behind-the scenes negotiations to get him here, according to nine current and former U.S. officials.
There were deliberations about what images of Biden the meetings might produce, officials said. Officials went back and forth about whether Biden should smile in photographs with the crown prince or shake his hand — even debating whether Biden should grab his arm while doing so. Officials said they also discussed whether Biden should offer “warm words” about the relationship with Saudi Arabia while standing with MBS, as the crown prince is called, in front of cameras.
How Biden came to approve a stop he knew would draw criticism from members of his own Democratic Party — and potentially damage his political brand by reneging on his campaign pledge to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” — involved months of internal debate and efforts to get the Saudis to take goodwill steps toward his foreign policy priorities.
Record gas prices in the U.S. also gave a Saudi visit more momentum, officials said. In advance of the trip, Brett McGurk, the National Security Council’s coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, and Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs, visited Saudi Arabia for discussions about the kingdom’s boosting oil production.
Embracing Saudi Arabia, particularly after U.S. intelligence officials concluded that the crown prince approved the murder of Khashoggi, could seem at odds with Biden’s repeated insistence that the future of the world hinges on whether democracies prevail over autocracies.
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