Eli Lake, Columnist

Biden Wants to Mend the U.S.-Saudi Alliance, Not End It

Unlike members of Congress, the president does not have the luxury of posturing on an issue.

February 5, 2021 at 8:00 AM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Can he be tamed?
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Anyone paying attention for the last three years should not be surprised that President Joe Biden on Thursday announced the end to U.S. support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen, calling the war a “humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.” Most of Biden’s party has given up on the Saudi regime, particularly after its agents murdered and then dismembered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.

But it would be a mistake to read too much into the Biden administration’s opening move in its attempt to reset the U.S. relationship with its oldest ally in the Middle East. Unlike members of Congress, the U.S. president does not have the luxury of only posturing on an issue. He also has to make policy.