'Worst foreign policy deal of my lifetime.' Is Biden going to risk American lives for Saudi Arabia?

this week marks five years since the death of Jamal kogi a Saudi journalist us resident Washington Post columnist and vocal critic of the Saudi government on October the 2nd 2018 kosagi arrived at the Saudi conselor in Istanbul on the advice of the Saudi government hoping to receive the Saudi paperwork he needed to marry his fiance instead the Saudis murdered him and dismembered his body and it was a shock felt around the world Kashi was murdered inside the Saudi Consulate in is the missing jour

nalist Jamal died during his visit to the country's consulate in Istanbul earlier this month in the weeks that follow the story of kogi's disappearance turned assassination was pieced together one horrific revelation after another the CIA quickly concluded the Saudi government specifically Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman ordered kogi's assassination the US intelligence Community would later find that the Crown Prince viewed kogi as a threat to the kingdom and broadly supported using violent mea

sures if necessary to silence him Jamal kogi's killing marked a critical shift in the world's view of the freshly crowned Crown Prince muhamad bin Salman or MBS who had been widely if ludicrously hailed as a promising new leader a risk taker who would restore peace to the Middle East a millennial who would stand up for human rights a reformer who would return Saudi Arabia to moderate Islam yet it had actually been clear for a while that nbs's leadership was on course to be none of that it wasn't

just the gruesome assassination of a prominent dissident on foreign soil it was the brutal bombing campaign against the poorest country in the Middle East Yemen and while Donald Trump played protector to the young Crown Prince bragging to journalist Bob Woodward how he saved MBs is behind then candidate Joe Biden took to the debate stage in Atlanta a year after the murder of kogi during the Democratic presidential primaries to make his own disgust for the Saudi government crystal clear kogi was

in fact murdered and dismembered and I believe in the order of the Crown Prince and I would make it very clear we were not going to in fact sell more weapons to them we were going to in fact make them pay the price and make them in fact the Pariah that they are there's very little social redeeming value of the in the present uh government in Saudi Arabia no more weapon sales Pariah very little social redeeming value so how do we get from that to this yes president no longer candidate Joe Biden

last year exchanging a fist bump with the Crown Prince on a visit to Saudi Arabia and last month doing the full handshake with the man who his own Administration says ordered the barbaric murder of a US resident but we're way past just fist bumps and handshakes we're way past weapon sales and the Biden Administration has happily sold $4.7 billion of arms to the kingdom since taking office we now appear to be on the brink of striking what's being called a mega deal with the Saudis Yes you heard t

hat right over the summer the foreign policy Sage of the US press Corp the Middle East cab driver Whisperer extraordinaire Thomas fredman revealed in the New York Times how President Biden was seriously weighing a Mutual Security pact with Saudi Arabia which would involve Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel provided that Israel make concessions to the Palestinians that would preserve the possibility of a two-state solution the Saudis said fredman would also expect the us to help deliv

er them a civil nuclear energy program to be clear if such a deal were to happen it would be the first time the US signed a Mutual Security PCT with a non-democratic government since 1953 last month fredman followed up on the news praising the administration for taking on an issue he said more complicated and challenging than quantum mechanics quote the more I learn about the complex peace and Security deal that the Biden team is trying to put together the more I'm convinced that if they put off

they'll win both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in physics well according to National Security Council spokesman John Cirby the basic framework for an agreement is in place and just last week sources told axio the White House Middle East Zar Brett mcgurk visited NBS in Saudi Arabia to discuss the mega deal look it's difficult to overstate how big a deal a Saudi us Israel agreement would be Mega may be an understatement and yet overwhelmed as we have been here at home by ongoing attac

ks on our democracy multiple Trump trials the GOP primaries the impeachment inquiry the shutdown Hunter Biden endless natural disasters inflation interest rate Rises Taylor Swift Kevin McCarthy and more this story this looming deal has almost completely flown under the radar it's not being debated in Congress or on cable news the American public largely doesn't have a clue about it and yet in my view we may be sleep walking into the worst foreign policy agreement in decades one that could cost A

merican lives today I'm going to explain why but let's start by asking why is this Administration so Keen to make such a deal with MBs is Saudi Arabia and with Benjamin netan Yahoo Israel in the first place why are so many very serious people in Washington DC so very excited about such an agreement well Mr foreign policy over at the New York Times Tom fredman says it would be a historic roson between the Jewish State and The Wider Muslim World quote it would be a game Cher for the Middle East bi

gger than the Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel because peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia the custodian of Islam's two Holier cities mcah and Medina would open the way for peace between Israel and the whole Muslim world including giant countries like Indonesia and maybe even Pakistan fredman ands it would be a significant Biden foreign policy Legacy he also says the deal could have a moderating impact on Israel's far government and fredman is in fact channeling not just the vi

ews of the Saudi cab driver but what the Biden Administration itself is saying on the rare occasions it talks about these negotiations here was National Security adviser Jake Sullivan giving his Sunny Outlook last week at the Atlantic Magazine's ideas Festival the amount of time that I have to spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East today compared to any of my predecessors going back to 9911 is significantly reduced so what are we trying to do with with Saudi and Israel reinforce deepen

and sustain that out into the future because we believe that Regional integration and normalization between significant countries in the Middle East can create a greater and more stable Foundation as we go forward other proponents of a deal say Biden's real Target is not the Middle East but America's top Global competitor China that's the argument of Hussein ibish a scholar at the Saudi funed Gulf States Institute in DC he writes in the New York Times that the main advantage of the Triangular de

al offers the United States is a tighten grip over three vitally important waterways around the Arabian Peninsula you see China Imports nearly half of its oil and a lot of its goods through those waterways such a pact therefore ibish says would undoubtedly ensure that Saudi Arabia's increasing flirtation with China never leads to a significant strategic foothold for Beijing in the kingdom and he adds a US Saudi pact could allow the United States to finally realize its long-standing goal of reduc

ing some of its huge military bases in the Gulf region sounds great doesn't it sounds almost like VI ramas Swami constantly proclaiming that he'll wean Russia off of China by doing a deal with Putin and apparently now Biden will wean the Saudis off of China by doing a deal with NBS but it's not that simple or easy this isn't like playing a board game like Risk with friends in your living room unless your friends include a Theocratic Royal ruler who's widely known as The Bona prince and a farri p

rime minister facing trial for corruption these are not serious diplomatic partners and Biden is risking real Disaster by cting them in this way how well first let's take a closer look at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia make them in fact the Pariah that they are maybe you know them from the Gulf War or 9911 or the Civil War in Yemen or of course the murder of Jamal k Chi the kingdom whose state sponsored television runs comedy sketches like this one depicting Biden as a doing old fool yes Mr Preside

nt the Saudis are really big fans of yours no really in fact as former top us diplomats Daniel C curzer and Aaron David Miller wri in foreign affairs it is a real stretch to describe Saudi Arabia as a US Ally the Saudi government shares almost no values with that of the United States least of all those related to democracy and freedom and its interests clearly diverge from Washington's on human rights oil pricing and relations with China and Russia so given all that given how unreliable untrustw

orthy and violent NBS and the Saudis have been what is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia offering the US that we don't already have not much to be honest recognizing Israel and its security needs the Saudis actually already do that unofficially as curzer and Miller note Jerusalem and Riyad maintain intelligence and security relationships albeit Undeclared ones multiple news reports meanwhile suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2020 met in Saudi Arabia with MBS and last month Israel

for the first time sent a government minister to the kingdom for a public visit a second Minister paid a visit this week so don't believe the harsh rhetoric in public behind the scenes the Saudis and the Israelis have been working together for years and if those two countries want to get even closer publicly they can do it without the US getting involved make them in fact the Pariah that they are and by the way can we stop calling this a peace deal because a peace deal is for when two countries

are at war with one another not when they're hosting each other's officials and sharing Intel in fact the last time the Saudis and the Israelis met on a battlefield was 50 years ago now the Saudis might say well this deal will get concessions from Israel for the Palestinians so it will lead to Middle East peace but we haven't had any specifics from the saies or the Israelis for that matter and more on that in a moment how about cheaper oil though it'd be great for Biden if he could get a commitm

ent on that right but Riad is rigging artificially high oil prices by restricting Supply right now just as they did in the leadup to the 2022 midterm elections leading experts from think tanks like Brookings and quiny to say NBS was putting his thumb on the scale of us elections in favor of the Republicans and of course the Saudis are much much closer to the Trump family than they are to the Biden Administration two billion doll investment anyone it's not just Jared the Donald himself according

to a New York state judge bragged about the Saudis being willing to pay him any Price He suggests for his properties which the judge added suggests possible influence buying by the Saudis knowing all that does MBS strike you as the kind of guy that wants to help out Joe Biden ahead of an election against Donald Trump that he wants to listen to the US government on the direction of gas prices okay what about getting the Saudis to do better on human rights in return for this Mega deal say I don't

know the Saudi stop gunning down migrants at their border or stop sentencing to death their own citizens for tweeting well if you think Jared's pal MBS will agree to that I have a $10 barrel of oil to sell you so just to repeat we don't get cheaper gas or fewer executions from the Saudis but they get a security PCT one that sounds more like a military rental agreement as those former diplomats Daniel curtz are and Miller wrote the Saudis are also likely to ask for a binding commitment from the U

nited States to defend the kingdom with Force if it comes under attack under no circumstances should the Biden Administration make such a commitment and yet we might be about to NBS who loves to Rattle his saber when it comes to the Islamic Republic of Iran would clearly also love a personal insurance policy from the US Department of Defense which is crazy as Middle East defense analyst Bilal s wrote in foreign policy last spring s Arabia is asking the US government to formally commit to Saudi s

ecurity something the United States does only with treaty allies including NATO members and you remember the whole thing about NATO right an attack on one is an attack on all it's the reason that even possibly extending NATO membership to Ukraine is such a hotly contested issue right now because offering a blanket will come to your defense no matter what promise is the kind of thing that's triggered a World War before knowing all that do we really think the public wants American troops obligated

to act as royal guards for a Theocratic monarchy that hasn't been afraid to get involved in wars in that region a nation that gave us 15 of the 19 hijackers who attacked America on 9911 a regime that helped me the groundwork for the rise of alqaeda and Isis and the Taliban why would the United States put itself in the position where they must come to the military aid of a vicious brutal regime when currently we don't seem to even have the stomach to do that for a democracy that being invaded by

Russia make them in fact the Pariah that they are but wait there's more because this oil Rich Nation reportedly also wants the us to give it nuclear energy and that's not a new ask according to the New York Times the Saudis have pressed Washington to help it develop help it developed a nuclear energy program for years so why hasn't it happened yet quote because the Saudi government refuses to agree to conditions that are intended to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons or helping other na

tions do so according to officials with knowledge of the discussions that sounds bad for their part the Saudis continue to insist that any nuclear program would be purely civilian in nature except are you concerned though Iran gets a nuclear weapon about them getting a nuclear weapon when we are concerned of any country getting a nuclear weapon that's a bad uh uh that's a bad move if they get one will you if they get one we have to get one so give us nuclear energy which we promised to use for p

eaceful purposes unless we decide we have to turn it into nuclear weapons sounds great does Joe Biden really want to be remembered as the president who made nukes possible for the country again remember that gave us 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9911 and by the way what do you think the Iranians will do with their nuclear program if we start giving the Saudi nuclear energy technology it's a recipe for a nuclear arms race in the Middle East which partly why the Israelis haven't fully signed on to the

terms of this Mega deal yet and why a bipartisan group of more than two dozen experts petitioned Biden last month urging him not to agree to any deal that gives the Saudis the ability to enrich uranium on their territory yes a bipartisan group because for all the serious and dangerous divisions in America today there is one thing a majority of Americans see eye to eye on and it's not trusting Saudi Arabia a Harris poll commissioned by The quiny Institute in August asked Americans if they would

favor or oppose a deal in which Saudi Arabia opened diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for the US committing American soldiers to defend Saudi Arabia in the event of a war 55% said they would oppose it to only 45 who would favor it practically a landslide in terms of American public opinion in 2023 and that number was roughly the same across Republicans Democrats and Independence here's the thing Biden's own base in the Democratic party aren't fans of the current Israeli government eit

her so why oh why is Joe Biden going out of his way to appease these two governments at this moment in time in fact let's talk about the current far-right Israeli government the other party to this looming agreement it's a government whose attack on the independence of the Israeli Judiciary has led to hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy Israelis marching week after week in protest and Israeli Judiciary that is by the way currently trying prime minister Netanyahu for corruption charges now Pre

sident Biden has urged Netanyahu who publicly and privately to drop the legislation weakening the country's Supreme Court but the Prime Minister ignored those pleas and passed part of his controversial Judiciary bill in July Netanyahu also secured his Premiership by agreeing to a coalition government with people like national security minister itar benav who was previously convicted in an Israeli Court of inciting racism a guy who would go on to say [Music] this and Netanyahu actually defended t

hose racist comments from Ben gavier meanwhile in the past year Israel has illegally displace more than 1100 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and last week un officials called for Israel to cease their settlement activities citing their violations under international law for what is I believe the zillionth time so this is the moment Biden wants to reward and embolden the Netanyahu benav government this is the moment that Biden wants to offer unprecedented gifts to the Saudis a mutual def

ense pack nuclear energy in return for a normalization of relations with Israel which won't actually guarantee anything of substance for the Palestinians here's Netanyahu speaking at the UN General Assembly last month I've long sought to make peace with the Palestinians but I also believe that we must not give the Palestinians a veto over new peace treaties with Arab states and surely it cannot be a great sign for Palestinians that the map Netanyahu held up during that speech entitled the new Mi

ddle East completely erases the Palestinian territories it has just Israel oh and by the way let's say miraculously Israel were to agree to Major and meaningful concessions to the Palestinians even then if you believe that in Israel run by Benjamin Netanyahu and and his farai allies would actually follow through on any meaningful post deal concessions to the Palestinians then boy do I have an evacuated Israeli settlement to sell you look don't get me wrong I'm all for peace in the Middle East bu

t a real peace based on Justice and equality not a pretend peace based between autocrats and authoritarians who don't even speak for the people they claim to represent look at Donald Trump's Abraham Accords for example which this Mega deal is supposed to be some kind of sequel to signed in 2020 those Accords normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates bahin Morocco and Sudan which quietly signed the agreement in 2021 and of course the agreement was perceived as a huge diploma

tic success but at the time polling in those countries like bahin and the UAE showed only lukewarm support for the agreement since then public opinion has only gotten worse the people on the ground want a real peace not a pretend peace a peace that doesn't throw Palestinians under the bus the kind of piece that the Saudis were once in favor of because rather than Joe Biden suggesting he wants to deal with the Saudis and Israelis today centered around normalization in return for a defense pact an

d nuclear energy and some minor probably imagined concessions to the Palestinians and rather than Tom fredman gushing about what a huge deal that would be if it happened why not go back to Tom fredman's own oped in the times on February the 17th 2002 in which he described a visit to the kingdom in which he fredman met the then Saudi Crown Prince nbs's late Uncle Abdullah who told him that he wanted to Rally Arab Nations around a position of quote full Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied ter

ritories in accord with un resolutions including in Jerusalem for full normalization of relations now that's a deal worth pushing for the Saudi peace plan also known as the Arab peace initiative which was rejected in 2002 by Ariel chiron's Israeli government and effectively ignored here by the Bush Administration a deal that would trade land for peace not a deal that trades no land and no peace for nuclear energy and a mutual defense pact I mean come on in what world does Joe Biden do this deal

with the Saudis and then still go on about the great struggle of democracy versus autocracy in what world does Joe Biden do this deal with the Israelis and then still go on about a two-state solution for the Palestinian in what world does Joe Biden do a deal in which He blesses a nuclear energy program for the Crown Prince while then rejecting a deal on nuclear energy for the Ayatollah this isn't just about our interests trumping our values this so-called Mega deal isn't in our interests or in l

ine with our values look I was in a tiny minority of journalists and pundits here in Washington DC who praised President Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021 and end America's longest war so how did Joe Biden go from making one of the best and boldest presidential foreign policy decisions of my lifetime to now pushing for one of the [Music] worst [Music]