Balancing Act: Biden Must Redefine the US-Saudi Relationship

Feb 25, 2021
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Also published in The Hill
Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Saudi Arabia
About the Authors
Ambassador Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross

Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute.

Robert Satloff - source: The Washington Institute
Robert Satloff

Robert Satloff is the Segal Executive Director of The Washington Institute, a post he assumed in January 1993.

Articles & Testimony

The administration’s instinct to cancel Riyadh’s blank check is right, but engaging a flawed partner is not the same as confronting a determined adversary.

The expected release of a declassified intelligence report that will probably conclude with “moderate confidence” that Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman—known as MbS—ordered the killing of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi is sure to heighten anger with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. How the Biden administration responds will have huge ramifications for its broader Middle East policy. The U.S.-Saudi relationship is a classic case in which Washington has had to reconcile concerns, needs and interests. For more than 70 years, there was a basic bargain: We provide the Saudis security, they provide a stable oil market and support against common adversaries. But with the waning of our dependence on Middle East oil and our growing fatigue with regional conflicts, this relationship has come under much greater scrutiny...

Read the full article on the Hill website.

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