Will Biden Finally Get Tough With Saudi Arabia?
After months of seeking to appease Saudi Arabia and its de facto ruler, Mohammed Bin Salman, the Biden administration has concluded that it needs to “re-evaluate” its relationship with the Kingdom following the announcement that the Saudis and the rest of the OPEC+ oil cartel will cut oil production by two million barrels per day. The production cut will drive up the cost of fuel just weeks before next month’s midterm elections, and critics have characterized the move as effectively constituting election interference. While Saudi Arabia is free to pursue its own interests in hiking oil prices, this sudden and drastic cut does not reflect the behavior the United States can reasonably expect from a partner, especially one that relies so heavily on the U.S. for security assistance and protection.
What can and should the United States do to rebalance the relationship with Saudi Arabia? Should it continue to provide security to Riyadh? Should the U.S. continue to support Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen or should the U.S. bring its troops home from Saudi? Please join us in addressing these questions in a conversation with U.S. Representative Ro Khanna, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution Bruce Riedel, and Research Fellow for the Middle East at the Quincy Institute, Annelle Sheline. Trita Parsi, Quincy Institute Executive Vice President, will moderate the conversation.