Enough Scapegoating MBS for US Policy Failure

It is rather well-known that there is no love lost between President Joe Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. So let’s just try to analyze what led to the latest fallout in this utterly undiplomatic saga. MBS is leading the feminist revolution in Saudi Arabia and now there is another one playing out in Iran. Needless to say, all leaders of the emerging regional security architecture in the Middle East, including obviously MBS, would want Biden to take a decisive stand and intervene in support of the emerging Iranian revolt by imposing a no-fly zone over Iran, including provision of air support to insurgents. In fact, there has never been a better time to implement this but now. Why is this so? Because, doing this now would drastically increase the chances of success for regime change. Instead, President Biden insists on sticking to reckless negotiations that are leading absolutely nowhere simply because the ruling mullahs negotiate in bad faith. America’s Middle Eastern allies have one card to show their displeasure and that is the oil card and please note that this is not just a decision by one man in Riyadh. The problem here is that Biden is drawing the wrong conclusions, namely that he should go back to his bad old policy of “treating Saudi Arabia like the pariah they are”. This is harming American interests and indicates that Biden is not serious about Plan B on Iran since the KSA is vital for that. The reality is that MBS is a very powerful man who controls the global price of oil and he could easily ensure further price hikes in retaliation for US hostility against the KSA. In fact, President Biden was particularly unwise to antagonize MBS in the first place. The reality is that failed US policy on Iran is to blame for the OPEC production cut. The Biden administration has long pursued a failed policy on Iran and is now returning to a failed policy on Saudi Arabia as well. American interests will undoubtedly suffer as a consequence.