Tiberius Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 The old man is putting a focus on human rights Quote Biden’s tough stance on Saudi Arabia is getting results. He shouldn’t relent. Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul in an undated photo. (Reuters) Opinion by Editorial Board Feb. 11, 2021 at 3:26 p.m. EST Add to list JOE BIDEN promised during his campaign to withdraw the “blank check” then-President Donald Trump offered to dictators such as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Just three weeks after the change in administrations, the benefits of restoring that principle to U.S. foreign policy are already manifest. Since the beginning of the year, Saudi Arabia has carried out two policy reversals long sought by the United States: an end to its three-year-old feud with neighboring Qatar, and the release of prominent political prisoners. Last week, two U.S. citizens jailed by the kingdom since 2019, Salah al-Haidar and Bader al-Ibrahim, were freed on bail. A couple of weeks before that, a third dual U.S.-Saudi citizen, Walid al-Fitaihi, saw his looming prison sentence canceled. On Wednesday, Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, delivered his most conspicuous concession yet: the release of Loujain al-Hathloul, a 31-year-old women’s rights activist who had become the best-known Saudi political prisoner. Ms. Hathloul was abducted from the United Arab Emirates in 2018 and later held with other women’s activists in a secret prison, where she was brutally tortured. She and the other women were tried on trumped-up “crimes,” such as discussing human rights with Western diplomats. AD Senior Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, attempted repeatedly to obtain freedom for Ms. Hathloul and the Americans and end the Saudi boycott of Qatar. They failed. That’s because MBS knew he had the protection of Mr. Trump, who bragged that he had “saved [MBS’s] ass” after the 2018 murder of exiled journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a permanent U.S resident and Post contributing columnist. Now that the United States has a president unwilling to grant him carte blanche, MBS is rapidly backpedaling. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/bidens-tough-stance-on-saudi-arabia-is-getting-results-he-shouldnt-relent/2021/02/11/e73aee78-6c8b-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unforgiven Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 What, has the pallet been filled with cash and sitting on the tarmac already? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted February 12, 2021 Author Share Posted February 12, 2021 1 hour ago, Unforgiven said: What, has the pallet been filled with cash and sitting on the tarmac already? Come on, celebrate, people are free now because of Biden. Wow, take off the blinders 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando Tim Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 4 hours ago, Tiberius said: The old man is putting a focus on human rights https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/bidens-tough-stance-on-saudi-arabia-is-getting-results-he-shouldnt-relent/2021/02/11/e73aee78-6c8b-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html I will have to give him credit on this, I hope this does not signify him going back to helping Iran because between the two SA is better. If he can push SA to be better without helping Iran I will be impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted February 12, 2021 Author Share Posted February 12, 2021 29 minutes ago, Buffalo Timmy said: I will have to give him credit on this, I hope this does not signify him going back to helping Iran because between the two SA is better. If he can push SA to be better without helping Iran I will be impressed. Helping Iran to stop making a nuclear bomb, that was a good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted February 12, 2021 Share Posted February 12, 2021 https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/11/biden-pressure-saudi-arabia-arms-sales-yemen-haiti/ non pay wall account of the move. Fairly apolitical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Egg Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Putting more U.S. $$$ into Saudi oil rich pockets while scolding them on something they will do nothing about. Attaboy Joe! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Blitz Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Getting results alright. Garbage ones. Biden’s Rough Start With the World This has been one of the shortest and coldest diplomatic honeymoons on record Less than a month into Joe Biden’s presidency, and his administration is already engaged in spats with China, Russia and Iran. It is also discovering that U.S. allies are not quite as happy with Mr. Biden’s Feb. 4 announcement that “America is back” as many Democrats might have hoped. In Asia the administration’s Myanmar policy—imposing sanctions that signal displeasure without materially affecting the army’s ability to rule—has attracted little enthusiasm. On Feb 15, India’s foreign minister hailed Indo-Japanese cooperation on regional infrastructure projects that link Myanmar with its neighbors, a not-so-subtle signal that India intends to go on cooperating with Myanmar no matter what Washington wants. Simultaneously, the large portion of the Indian press that supports the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is aflame with resentment that Vice President Kamala Harris’s niece, Meena Harris, seems to be siding with protesters against BJP policies. European leaders are also dismissive of American moralism. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the importation of U.S.-academic and cultural wokeness as a threat to the French way of life, while pragmatists on the Continent are pushing to strengthen economic relations with Russia and China—virtually ignoring the Biden administration’s efforts to raise the pressure on human-rights abusers in Moscow and Beijing. With the U.S. trade representative’s recent announcement that Trump-era retaliatory tariffs on European wine, cheese and food imports aren’t going away soon, this has been one of the shortest and coldest diplomatic honeymoons on record. In the Middle East, Iran is showing no eagerness to ease the administration’s path back into the 2015 nuclear deal. And both Israel and the conservative Arab states resent the American shift in that direction. As for restless NATO ally Turkey, Mr. Biden promised during the campaign to help President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s opposition. The new administration has so far criticized a crackdown on pro-LGBTQ student demonstrators and called on Ankara to release the dissident Osman Kavala. Closer to home, the unceremonious cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline miffed Canadians. The Biden administration appears headed for a fight with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over deforestation in the Amazon basin—a sensitive issue for the Brazilian right.... https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-rough-start-with-the-world-11613430041?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_4&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Egg Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Seeing President Biden in the media is near non existent. He is rolled out occasionally. It is a creepy sight. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 (edited) On 2/15/2021 at 11:12 PM, Big Blitz said: Getting results alright. Garbage ones. Biden’s Rough Start With the World This has been one of the shortest and coldest diplomatic honeymoons on record Less than a month into Joe Biden’s presidency, and his administration is already engaged in spats with China, Russia and Iran. It is also discovering that U.S. allies are not quite as happy with Mr. Biden’s Feb. 4 announcement that “America is back” as many Democrats might have hoped. In Asia the administration’s Myanmar policy—imposing sanctions that signal displeasure without materially affecting the army’s ability to rule—has attracted little enthusiasm. On Feb 15, India’s foreign minister hailed Indo-Japanese cooperation on regional infrastructure projects that link Myanmar with its neighbors, a not-so-subtle signal that India intends to go on cooperating with Myanmar no matter what Washington wants. Simultaneously, the large portion of the Indian press that supports the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is aflame with resentment that Vice President Kamala Harris’s niece, Meena Harris, seems to be siding with protesters against BJP policies. European leaders are also dismissive of American moralism. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the importation of U.S.-academic and cultural wokeness as a threat to the French way of life, while pragmatists on the Continent are pushing to strengthen economic relations with Russia and China—virtually ignoring the Biden administration’s efforts to raise the pressure on human-rights abusers in Moscow and Beijing. With the U.S. trade representative’s recent announcement that Trump-era retaliatory tariffs on European wine, cheese and food imports aren’t going away soon, this has been one of the shortest and coldest diplomatic honeymoons on record. In the Middle East, Iran is showing no eagerness to ease the administration’s path back into the 2015 nuclear deal. And both Israel and the conservative Arab states resent the American shift in that direction. As for restless NATO ally Turkey, Mr. Biden promised during the campaign to help President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s opposition. The new administration has so far criticized a crackdown on pro-LGBTQ student demonstrators and called on Ankara to release the dissident Osman Kavala. Closer to home, the unceremonious cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline miffed Canadians. The Biden administration appears headed for a fight with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over deforestation in the Amazon basin—a sensitive issue for the Brazilian right.... https://www.wsj.com/articles/bidens-rough-start-with-the-world-11613430041?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_4&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s Other than that...it's going great! Just ask the press... Edited February 17, 2021 by Doc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 (Bloomberg) -- Quote President Joe Biden intends to “recalibrate” the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia and will emphasize outreach to King Salman, in a move that signals a downgrade in ties with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler. It is the latest sign Biden’s team is taking a different track from former President Donald Trump toward the world’s largest oil exporter. Trump established close ties with Prince Mohammed and made Saudi Arabia the centerpiece of his strategy toward the Middle East after taking his first trip abroad as president there. That’s all being scaled back. In Biden’s first few days, the U.S. put a hold on some key weapons sales to the kingdom and announced new efforts to bring an end to the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Biden has also called on Saudi Arabia to improve its human rights record. “We’re going to recalibrate our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday. “Part of that is going back to engagement counterpart-to-counterpart. The president’s counterpart is King Salman.” Instead of engaging primarily with Biden, the crown prince’s most appropriate counterpart is Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, according to a person familiar. While Prince Mohammed’s official role is deputy prime minister and defense minister, he has a vast range of responsibilities as heir to the throne his father, 85, has held since 2015. He runs the country’s day-to-day affairs, and it’s common for foreign leaders to liaise with him directly, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and France’s Emmanuel Macron. Snub to Crown Prince https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-downgrades-saudi-crown-prince-061632309.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenhigh Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 4 hours ago, Tiberius said: (Bloomberg) -- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-downgrades-saudi-crown-prince-061632309.html Besides the pressure on human rights, which I applaud, how is this a positive in foreign policy? What is your stance on what's happening in Yemen? What's the political win here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 4 minutes ago, Tenhigh said: Besides the pressure on human rights, which I applaud, how is this a positive in foreign policy? What is your stance on what's happening in Yemen? What's the political win here? Joe's straining relations with an ally. Totally unlike the...um...never mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Blitz Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 2 hours ago, Big Blitz said: Everyone should listen to his town hall recap of that while conversation or read the transcript. He essentially said paraphrasing’I’m bringing up the human rights stuff because ya know they expect me to.’ the other thing he said verbatim was “if China wants to be the world leader, their going to have to... “ I heard a lot of people comment on how soft he is on China, those sound bytes certainly didn’t refute that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Yeah, ignore China's human rights abuses but go after ally Saudi Arabia... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 US sanctions inflicted $1 trillion damage on Iran’s economy: FM After the US lifts sanctions and rejoins the JCPOA, Iran will expect some form of compensation, foreign minister Zarif says. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/21/us-sanctions-inflicted-1-trillion-damage-on-irans-economy-fm Just say hell no to compensation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted February 21, 2021 Author Share Posted February 21, 2021 12 minutes ago, ALF said: US sanctions inflicted $1 trillion damage on Iran’s economy: FM After the US lifts sanctions and rejoins the JCPOA, Iran will expect some form of compensation, foreign minister Zarif says. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/21/us-sanctions-inflicted-1-trillion-damage-on-irans-economy-fm Just say hell no to compensation If they agreed to let their people vote in free and fair elections I'd pay them. But that won't happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillStime Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 On 2/19/2021 at 3:40 PM, Doc said: Yeah, ignore China's human rights abuses but go after ally Saudi Arabia... Exactly what Trump did... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 6 hours ago, BillStime said: Exactly what Trump did... At least he didn't excuse/justify it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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