Biden's Visit to Middle East: Objectives and Orientations

Jun 08, 2022 11:06 am

News coming from the White House regarding President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East and the countries the visit includes conflicted. Some media sources reported that the visit will occur immediately after Biden's European tour, during which he takes part in a summit for the North Atlantic Alliance in Spain and the summit of the Group of Seven in Germany later this month. Some other media sources and spokesmen of the White House noted that the visit isn't linked to Biden's European tour. 

Biden's American Administration justified his intention to visit the Saudi Arabia along with the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah as it is for the benefit of the United States and its allies with regard to the oil production issue amid the Russia-Ukraine war. It also noted that the United States' positions on the humanitarian issues represented in the Yemen war and Khashoggi will be the same, and that arrangements are ongoing so Bien's visit coincides with the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit that he intends to attend. 

On the Israeli level, the news about Biden's visit's time to the occupied Palestinian lands conflicted as well. It has not been confirmed until now, but media expectations and sources close the Israeli governments noted that the visit will happen at the end of the current month or the start of the next month, and will discuss the energy issues in the Mediterranean, Iran's threats, and the possibility of normalizing the relations with the Saudi Arabia. 

Analysis and Insight of the Scene    
•  The American preparations for President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East come within the US continuous role on the level of the world issues, headed by the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran's threats, the normalization agreements in the Palestinian lands, and the war in Yemen.
•  The United States continues to exert efforts to consolidate the Russian energy's global sources, through seeking to find alternative sources either from the Gulf oil or the Mediterranean gas.  
• The uncertainty in determining Biden's visit's time to the region goes back to the incomplete arrangements and Saudi Arabia's attempts to improve its conditions in light of its realization of the United States' need to increase Saudi Arabia's share of the oil production to pressure Russia.
• The Israeli political communities do not depend on Biden's visit in its security issues, especially that he shows so much flexibility towards Iran's nuclear program or the relations with the Palestinian Authority.
• The United States manages its relations and positions towards the region's issues in accordance with the American strategic interests in a way that serves its policies and power on the global level.

Possible Scenarios: Based on the abovementioned and reading of the scene, following is the expected: 
• Biden's visit might concern about the pivotal issues of the American interests, the most important of which is Russia's energy sources compensation from alternative sources in the Middle East. This scenario is supported by Biden's efforts to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, increase the Saudi Arabia's share of the oi production, and visit the occupied lands to discuss the possible ways to promote the production of gas in the Mediterranean, illustrating the Israeli occupation's frustration of Biden's unconcern in the security issues, which are quite important for the Israeli occupation. 
• Biden administration's interests might expand to include a larger extent of the region's issues, including the normalization agreements, Iran's threats and escalation in the Palestinian lands. This scenario seems less present in light of the United States' efforts to achieve its interests and priorities first. 
In general, all scenarios are present and possible with preference; yet the first one is preferred. Its success is partially expected in light of the Israeli occupation's frustration of the US role, and the Saudi Arabia's abstention from pursuing the US orientations as it rejects the US positions on its human rights issues. 
 

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