Source: official account: Xiake island wechat id:xiake_ island
US President Biden recently went to the Middle East. Before leaving, he threatened to vigorously carry out diplomatic offensives in the Middle East and open a “new chapter” in the relationship between the United States and the Middle East. But what about the effect? Few countries in the Middle East responded to the “diplomatic show” in which the United States openly made friends and secretly asked for oil.
As foreign media said, an important discovery of Biden’s visit is that “the Middle East has changed”.
Biden punched Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Source: surging image
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One and a half years after taking office as president of the United States, Biden suddenly remembered to visit the Middle East. He was so “crammed” that he obviously had a request——
First, look for oil. After the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the western countries led by the United States implemented several rounds of sanctions against Russia, which led to the continuous rise of international oil prices, and the western countries of the United States were also affected. Since this year, the price of refined oil in the United States has soared all the way, together with the inflation data in the United States. On July 13, the day Biden flew to Israel, the first stop of his Middle East tour, the US Department of labor announced that CPI rose 9.1% year-on-year in June, the highest since November 1981.
The high fever of inflation has not subsided, and the American people have to bear great pressure on their lives, and their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration and the Democratic Party is growing day by day. The latest national poll released in early July showed that Biden’s support rate plummeted to 30%, a new low. Therefore, the White House thought of the little brother in the Middle East and hoped that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producing countries would increase oil production, so as to lower international oil prices and ease the inflationary pressure in the United States.
It’s OK to ask for oil at the door, but it happens that “big brother” doesn’t open any pot. When meeting with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Biden threw out the old story of the killing of Saudi journalist kasuji, which made the crown prince unhappy and choked: what about the abuse of prisoners by the U.S. military in Iraqi prisons? What about the killing of Palestinian American journalists?
After a contest, Saudi Arabia said it was “capable” of increasing the daily output of crude oil from 12million barrels to 13million barrels, but “has no additional capacity” to continue to increase crude oil production. The meaning is very clear: I can, but I don’t want to. What can you do to me?
The second is to meet friends. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to ferment, and the negotiation of the Iran nuclear agreement is blocked. The United States plans to rebuild its traditional alliance with the Middle East and persuade China ASEAN friends to isolate China and Russia together. After Biden took office, he intended to return to the Iran nuclear agreement, which also needs the support of Middle East allies. However, in the actual negotiation process, the United States took a tough attitude towards Iran and refused to make concessions. Several rounds of negotiations on the Iran nuclear agreement reached an impasse after March this year.
Before Biden’s visit to the Middle East, he once made harsh remarks to unite his allies to “isolate” Iran and force Iran to resume the implementation of the Iran nuclear agreement through diplomatic and economic pressure. However, the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and other countries did not make a clear response to the “joint anti Iraq”. Many Middle East countries also stressed that “dialogue with Iran is the safest way to solve the problem”.
As for Israel, Biden just left, and the war reignited: on July 16, the IDF released a video of “multiple rockets fired from Gaza to Israel”. On the same day, the IDF sent warplanes to launch air strikes against relevant military targets.
It seems that the Biden administration’s so-called “new chapter in the Middle East” is just to continue to play its traditional artistic skill of stirring up muddy waters.
Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Rashid touched each other. Source: Reuters
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The United States stirred up muddy waters, but the Middle East countries were not confused. As mualim, a policy adviser at the Palestinian Center for peace and democracy, said, Biden’s visit to the Middle East is just a public relations show, which has no practical significance. The United States only cares about its own interests.
Although Biden repeatedly stressed that the United States “will not leave” the Middle East when attending the Jeddah “security and development” Summit on July 16, it is undeniable that the United States has been reducing its investment in the Middle East in recent years, weakening its security supply to the region, and its attention has long shifted from the Middle East to “India Pacific”. After taking office, the current US government decided to end its military support for the “Saudi coalition war in Yemen” every minute.
As for Biden’s urgent desire to “return to the Middle East”, the US media directly exposed that the US president would not go to the Middle East at all if the high oil price fever did not threaten his re-election. To put it bluntly, the small move that the United States wants to make in the Middle East is similar to that of the United States in other regions, that is, by pulling a small circle, pushing its allies to the front line, and then extricating itself from the quagmire.
Will the Middle East countries be moved by the “sincere friendship” of the United States? Of course not. After all, what the United States has brought to the region is only confrontation and unrest. Whether it is a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan or the withdrawal of the “Patriot” missile defense system deployed in Saudi Arabia, the actions of the United States have made the Middle East countries see the true face of “big brother” again and again.
Saudi foreign minister Faisal made it clear that the United States is a very important partner, but this does not mean that Saudi Arabia cannot cooperate with other countries. After all, this is not a zero sum game.
No matter whether the United States “returns to the Middle East” this time is sincere or false, there is no chance to return objectively. On the one hand, the strength of the United States has long been weakened, and its domestic differences are still unable to be controlled. How can it spare a hand to “benefit” the Middle East? On the other hand, today’s Middle East is different from the past. Countries in the region generally regard the pursuit of peace and development as their main demands. For the United States, which only wants to regard the Middle East as a battlefield for the game of great powers, Middle East countries do not trust and welcome it, and they are more reluctant to become pawns and use it.
As the crown prince of Saudi Arabia warned Biden, “you cannot impose your values on others by force. We have our own values, which cannot be 100% consistent with the values of the United States.”
Text / mountain sea Jiyue
Edit / click Cang