Antony Blinken sat down in Jeddah with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday. Blinky’s counting that as a diplomatic win because nobody else seems to want to talk to him. China and Russia have both been giving him the cold shoulder. Prince MBS is usually of a jovial persuasion, generally seen grinning from ear-to-ear like a Cheshire cat. Not this time. He didn’t seem upset but wasn’t his typically cheerful self. That doesn’t bode well. Blinky looks a little edgy in the photo, too.
Blinken meets with the Saudis
After his quiet face-to-face meeting with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Antony Blinken jetted over to Riyadh where he enjoyed the entertainment of Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Faisal is Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister. They got to have a quick chat before the GCC ministerial meeting on Wednesday, June 7. He assured the Arabs that we’re committed to working with them. Behind the scenes, they were probably grilling him about what’s going on with Joe Biden. Like whether he’s okay after his fall. They also heard he’s under a bribery probe and might go to jail along with Hunter.
Blinky was able to joke with them about his recent close call with contempt charges. He ended up having to let the whole congressional oversight committee see that dissent cable but he won’t have to worry about prison. At least, not yet.
When he took the podium at the ministerial meeting, Blinken declared that “the United States is in this region to say we remain deeply invested in partnering with all of you. The GCC is the core of our vision for a Middle East that is more stable, more secure, more prosperous.”
Met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss our shared priorities, including countering terrorism through the D-ISIS Coalition, achieving peace in Yemen, and deepening economic and scientific cooperation. pic.twitter.com/nmNJqgBMuG
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 7, 2023
The agenda covered “regional issues” including “conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, Syria and the Palestinian territories.”
“Together,” Blinken proclaimed, “we are working to achieve a resolution to the conflict in Yemen.” They can call it “Yemen Aid.” Uncle Sam also wants to “continue to counter Iran’s destabilizing behavior.” Pirating tanker ships isn’t nice.
During his earlier encounter with Prince Faisal, the diplomats “resolved to continue to work together to counter terrorism, to support efforts to bring about a lasting peace in Yemen, and to promote stability, security, de-escalation, and integration in the region.” That sounds like fun.
Fighting in Sudan
While they were on the subject of our Afghanistan disaster and the cover up which got Blinken in trouble with Congress, they talked about Sudan. Just like Kabul, Blinky got caught with his pants down there. Faisal told him he’ll help straighten out the mess. “They pledged to continue their strong cooperation to end the fighting in Sudan.”
From what’s leaking out in sketchy reports from the Mid-East, Blinky had a session with Prince Happy Cat that was only a little milder than the torture Jamal Khashoggi was subjected to.
According to Eurasia Review, the meeting with Mohammed bin Salman “lasted about 100 minutes.” They “touched on topics including Saudi Arabia’s support for U.S. evacuations from Sudan, and the need for political dialogue in Yemen.”
We appreciate the Gulf Cooperation Council @GCC’s partnership, including our urgent work together on the situation in Sudan, seeking a durable solution to the conflict in Yemen, and countering Iran’s destabilizing behavior. pic.twitter.com/xaGQvV6HK3
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 7, 2023
Specifically, Blinken thanked the Prince deeply for all the help he gave to get out citizens out of there. That’s a job Blinky blew completely. Another thing they talked about is eliminating our shared enemy, ISIS. Only they have a different name for them.
Blinken and the Prince discussed “our shared priorities, including countering terrorism through the Global Coalition against Daesh, achieving peace in Yemen, and deepening economic and scientific cooperation.” Iran is another big concern but that’s a touchy subject. Nobody wants Iran to get the bomb but they’re inching closer to it every day and now announcing they have ballistic missiles for them.
The thing that makes it tricky is that China just talked Saudi Arabia into “normalizing” relations with Iran and the two nations are actually talking to each other again. Blinken says the subject came up. He’s not saying another word about it. That’s probably why neither of them look real happy in the PR photo.
