But Mr. Biden also made it clear that while he tried to force the Saudis to face the massive human toll of their intervention in Yemen, he was not leaving them alone to deal with a hostile Iran. He said he would continue to sell defensive weapons to Saudi Arabia that were designed to provide protection against missiles, drones and cyber-attacks from Tehran.
“We will continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its people,” the president said. He said nothing about the possibilities of sanctioning the Crown Prince for his involvement in the murder of Khashoggi, although Mr. Biden, Avril D. Haines, has said she plans to release intelligence about the murder.
In another reversal of Trump-era policy, Mr. Biden also announced that he was “halting any planned withdrawal of troops from Germany,” re-enacting Mr. Trump’s order to order 12,000 troops stationed in Germany. to put.
National security experts on both sides had called that order short-sighted, saying it was rooted in Mr Trump’s dislike for Chancellor Angela Merkel and his determination to force NATO countries to pay more for their own defense, regardless of the strategic costs involved. the United States. .
The New Washington
But strategically, it is Mr. Biden’s warning to Moscow that can say more in the long run about the reorientation of US foreign policy than the decision to limit Saudi Arabia’s ability to wage a regional war. . He is the first president since the fall of the Soviet Union to decide not to attempt a “reset” with Russia, but instead announces what amounts to a new strategy of deterrence, if not containment.
Mr. Biden hardened his promise to respond to Russian attempts to disrupt US democracy and the SolarWinds hacking, a massive breach of the US government and private networks whose dimensions are still a mystery. He said in a telephone conversation with Mr Putin last week that he had told the Russian leader “in a very different way from my predecessor, that the days of the United States are passing by the aggressive actions of Russia – disrupting our elections, cyber attacks that poison its citizens – its over. “
Mr Biden called on Moscow to release the imprisoned dissident Aleksei A. Navalny, adding, “We will not hesitate to raise the cost to Russia.” But he didn’t specify how he would accomplish that, and his options may be limited. While the president hinted at an “in-kind” response to the cyberattack, that could spark an escalation round that many US officials are concerned about.