[ad_1]
Joe Biden has announced the end of US support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen, as part of a broad reshaping of US foreign policy.
In his first foreign policy speech as president, Biden noted that the United States would no longer be an unquestioned ally of the Gulf monarchies, announced a more than eightfold increase in the number of refugees the country would accept, and declared that the days of a US president “flipping” for Vladimir Putin.
“America is back,” Biden declared in remarks delivered at the State Department, culminating a dozen dramatic changes in foreign policy since his inauguration on January 20. “Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy.”
Biden said the conflict in Yemen, which has killed more than 100,000 Yemenis and displaced 8 million, has “created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.”
“This war has to end,” Biden. “And to underscore our commitment, we are ending all US support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.”
However, he said the United States will continue to provide defensive support to Saudi Arabia against missile and drone attacks by Iranian-backed forces. US forces will also continue operations against al-Qaida on the Arabian peninsula.
To rebuild America’s “moral leadership,” Biden said he would also rebuild America’s refugee program and announced an executive order that would increase the number of refugees accepted into the United States in the first fiscal year of the Biden-Harris administration to 125,000. That’s higher than the 110,000 accepted in the last year of the Obama administration, which had dropped to less than 15,000 in the Trump administration.
As Biden spoke, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (Ice) announced that it had canceled a deportation flight to Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while conducting an investigation into allegations of abuse by Ice agents. against deportees. The announcement marked a significant shift in focus since the confirmation in the Senate of a new Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
“America’s moral leadership on refugee issues was a bipartisan consensus point for so many decades when I got here,” said Biden. “We shine the light of the lamp of freedom and oppressed peoples. We are offering safe havens for those fleeing violence or persecution, and our example pushed other nations to open their doors wide as well. “
Washington’s distancing from Riyadh is one of the most egregious setbacks on Donald Trump’s agenda, but it also marks a break with the policies pursued by Barack Obama, who had backed the Saudi offensive in Yemen, though later sought to impose restrictions on his war. aerial.
A bipartisan majority in Congress previously voted to cut off support for the Saudi campaign, citing the civilian death toll and the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. But Trump used his veto to block the measure.
The United States will also freeze arms sales to Saudi Arabia and appoint a special envoy to Yemen, to further pressure the Saudi, Emirati and Houthi forces they are fighting against, to achieve a lasting peace agreement.
“We have spoken with both senior officials in the UAE and senior officials in Saudi Arabia,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said before the speech. “We follow a policy without surprises when it comes to this type of action.”
Trump and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, treated Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, as an important ally in their campaign to paralyze Iran. To that end, Pompeo used emergency powers to bypass Congress and keep the arms supply flowing into the Gulf.
Pompeo’s successor, Tony Blinken, by contrast, spoke bluntly about Saudi culpability in the Yemen war. So far he has made more than 25 introductory calls to his counterparts around the world, and the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister has not been among them. Biden’s national intelligence director Avril Haines has promised to produce a declassified account of the Khashoggi’s murder, which is expected to incriminate the Saudi crown prince.
William Hartung, director of the weapons and security program at the Center for International Policy, welcomed Biden’s move, but added: “The devil will be in the details.
“To be effective, the new policy must stop all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both proposed and in process, including maintenance and logistical support; increase humanitarian aid to Yemen and reverse the designation of the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, seriously undermining the capacity of aid groups; and pressure Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to initiate a ceasefire and negotiate in good faith an inclusive peace agreement, ”Hartung said.
Blinken has said that the terrorist designation of the Houthis, imposed by Pompeo in the final days of the Trump administration, would be urgently reviewed.
The US decision, if fully implemented, will increase pressure on the UK to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Arms manufacturer Raytheon has already removed some orders from its books, according to evidence delivered to the British arms control select committee this week.
Although the UK is not formally part of the Saudi coalition in Yemen, it provides technical assistance to the Saudi air force, which the Defense Ministry says is designed to help Saudi Arabia meet humanitarian law standards.
Anna Stavrianakis, Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex, said: “The UK now runs the risk of being further alienated from EU member states and potentially the US, leaving the UK very isolated. . For a country that is very committed to being seen at the forefront of the rule of law and multilateral agreements, I think this is a very dangerous position for the UK government.
But the UK will be deeply reluctant to follow the US lead, as the UK has authorized fighter jets worth at least £ 5.4 billion, mainly typhoons and missiles, since the air campaign began in 2015.
The Biden administration has also stated its intention to re-enter the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, something that Riyadh has strongly opposed. However, Biden officials have indicated that reentry can be slow and complicated, and the president did not mention this in his speech.
Biden indicated that he would take a tougher line against Moscow than Trump, who consistently avoided criticism of Putin. While the administration acted quickly to extend the New Start arms control treaty with Russia. the president made clear that this will not prevent Washington from rejecting Russian threats and human rights abuses.
“I made it clear to President Putin that I am very different from my predecessor, and the days when the United States turned to aggressive actions by Russia – interfering with our elections, cyber attacks, poisoning its citizens – are over. We will not hesitate to increase the cost of Russia and defend the vital interests of our people, ”the president said.
Biden’s first foreign affairs speech was made at the State Department, in a gesture of appreciation for American diplomats who were often described as a hostile “deep state” by Donald Trump.
You are at the center of everything I intend to do. You are the heart, ”Biden told US diplomats and civil service personnel. “And in our administration, you will be trusted and empowered to do your job.”
