An American President in the Middle East

US president Joe Biden heads to the Middle East with stops in Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia.

US President Joe Biden in a media scrum.
US President Joe Biden speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, US, June 14, 2022 [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]

United States President Joe Biden has been to the Middle East many times, but never as head of state. Now he is packing his bag to visit Saudi Arabia, a nation he once called a “pariah” after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. However, with US gas prices through the roof and low poll numbers, some analysts say trading human rights for economic concerns could bring risks but also political rewards.

In this episode: 

  • Ali Harb (@Harbpeace), senior producer for Al Jazeera.com, Washington, DC

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters with Alexandra Locke, Ruby Zaman, Chloe Li, Ney Alvarez, Negin Owliaei, and Malika Bilal. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad.

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Source: Al Jazeera

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