Biden’s Middle East woes

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

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🗓️ 1 March 2021

⏱️ 26 minutes

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Summary

The U.S. intelligence report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi is finally released. And, how Donald Trump took a wrecking ball to U.S. relations in the Mideast, and whether President Biden will be able to recalibrate foreign policy in the region.

The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, approved the operation that led to the death of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi. National security reporter Karen DeYoung explains what we know from the long-awaited intelligence report.

Foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor discusses the Mideast problems piling up for Biden, and whether the new administration will be able to accomplish its ambitious agenda in the region. “After four years of what's been perceived as kind of wrecking-ball diplomacy by Trump when it comes to the Middle East, it's a pretty thorny set of challenges that await President Biden, having to both think through what these challenges mean for his American interests, but also having to undo some of the work that Trump did,” Tharoor says.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From the newsroom of the Washington Post, Washington Post is Colby.
0:11.4	Hi, it's Stephanie McCreement from the Washington Post.
0:14.4	This is Post Reports.
0:15.9	I'm Martine Powers.
0:20.0	It's Monday, March 1st.
0:23.5	Today, accountability for the death of Jamal Kashokchi and the other thorny challenges
0:29.9	were brought in in the Middle East.
0:36.9	After the October 28 murder of Jamal Kashokchi, various reports were leaked from the CIA saying
0:51.9	that they believed that the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had either ordered it or was
0:59.8	definitely responsible for the killing by Saudi agents.
1:04.2	Congress beginning in 2019 started demanding some kind of unclassified version of these
1:12.9	conclusions and they actually passed a law ordering the administration to tell them in
1:19.4	an unclassified way what the conclusions were that had been drawn.
1:26.2	Karen DeYoung covers National Security for the Post and she's been reporting on the death
1:30.5	of journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Kashokchi.
1:40.7	For two years, the Trump administration basically ignored this legal mandate when President
1:46.5	Biden's nominee for the intelligence director had her confirmation hearing, she, April
1:53.2	Haynes, was directly asked.
1:55.2	If you are confirmed, we use submit to the Congress, the unclassified report required by
2:00.9	the law.
2:01.9	Yes, Senator, we'll follow the law.
2:04.9	Thank you.
	...

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