Nagy: With friends like these; Biden's Middle East conundrum

West Texans have to drive long distances — so they are much more impacted by high gas prices than folks living in East Coast cities where cars are optional. In times past when energy prices spiked, the US could count on Middle East partners, notably Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to increase supplies as a way of moderating prices. There has been a strategic understanding for decades with our Gulf Partners: the US will protect you from external threats, while you vary your oil production to meet global energy needs and maintain moderate prices. This has worked relatively well in the past — but now, with energy prices surging and creating economic pain in consumer nations, the Gulf States show no inclination to increase production. What has changed?

US foreign policy is certainly playing a part. There is a historical tension in our foreign policy between emphasizing America’s values, such as democracy, human rights, good governance, and economic freedom, and practicing realpolitik, i.e., dealing with the world the way it is, not how we would like it to be. Each US President weighs the balance between these two forces differently — Carter, for example, was highly idealistic while Trump took a transactional approach — but all must at least espouse pursuing American values. The difference between what we say and what we do is often sheer hypocrisy.

This is especially true in the Middle East where reconciling these contrasting forces is most problematic. The region is made up of mostly artificial states created out of the Ottoman Empire by the winners of World War One. Aside from Israel and Lebanon, the nations are all ruled by autocrats — mostly hereditary royals who treat their people as subjects, not citizens.

Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer, has also been the most problematic: repressing women, forbidding basic freedoms, especially the right of worship beyond its own fundamentalist version of Islam, while creating a social and cultural environment which incubated global terrorists such as Osama Bin Laden. Saudi’s emerging leader, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), while undertaking some symbolic liberalizing gestures — such as finally permitting women to drive — nevertheless has shown a ruthlessness in his rise to power.

The most attention-grabbing act was the 2018 murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul. Khashoggi had angered MBS with his criticism, and analysts concluded that such an outlandish assassination had to have been approved by the Crown Prince.

Overall, Saudi governance and cultural values are the opposite of what America represents. But on the pragmatic side, beyond being able to turn on the global oil spigot when needed, the Saudis have served US interests by countering Iranian expansionism. In addition, the Saudis have purchased about $100 Billion worth of US arms since 2000.

While the Trump administration maintained cordial ties with the Saudis, relations have chilled considerably with Biden, who referred to the country as a “pariah” during the election campaign. Whereas Trump’s first overseas trip as President was to the Kingdom, Biden hasn’t even spoken to MBS. Biden also decreased US military support to Saudi Arabia’s campaign in Yemen, where they have been fighting a proxy war against the Iranian-backed Houthis since 2015.

The recent Russian war against Ukraine has again tilted the policy balance with Saudi Arabia. With exploding energy prices, the Biden administration has decided it is necessary to thaw Saudi relations. Initial attempts failed, when reports emerged that MBS screamed at US National Security Advisor Sullivan for mentioning the Khashoggi murder during a meeting. Other reports stated that MBS has also refused to take calls from Biden. (The White House has refuted both reports.) More recently, news broke of an April visit to Saudi Arabia by CIA Director Burns, and a meeting with the Saudis that was more cordial. We’ll see how the relationship evolves.

But the more fundamental question remains — how cozy should the US get with repressive regimes like Saudi Arabia, whose values are diametrically opposite to ours? In a unipolar world, like the one we enjoyed briefly after the fall of the Soviet Union, we called the shots. But that world is being replaced with a multipolar one where regional powers have much greater control over their neighborhoods and can advance their own interests by parlaying the US and China. Should we ignore our values to pursue key global interests; or neglect those interests to preserve our values? Tough choice.

Ambassador Tibor Nagy was most recently Assistant Secretary of State for Africa after serving as Texas Tech’s Vice Provost for International Affairs and a 30-year career as a US Diplomat.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tibor Nagy with friends like these; Biden's Middle East conundrum