July 18, 2022

While I (Alex) was in the Middle East following President JOE BIDEN around last week, I got the chance to ask National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY a question that had been rattling in my head from Israel to Saudi Arabia: This is a president who said America should lead by the “power of its example” and put human rights at the center of its foreign policy. So what was he doing failing to denounce Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands on the trip and relegitimizing Saudi Crown Prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN?

His answer: “You can’t advance your values and advance your concerns about human rights by not traveling, by staying home, by not having conversations,” he said. “The way you prove that human rights are, in fact, an integral part of your foreign policy is to get out on the road and have those conversations.”

Biden did, after all, bring up JAMAL KHASHOGGI’s murder to MBS, though there’s a dispute about whether the president said he believed the royal was responsible. Either way, being a straight shooter with your counterpart, even about tough stuff, is how you advance interests, Kirby continued.

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