Biden’s Saudi oil mess is being fixed by CEOs since he won’t
Top Wall Street executives recently traveled to Saudi Arabia on a diplomatic mission. Of course, it wasn’t promoted as diplomacy. The “Davos in the Desert” gathering of financiers in Saudi Arabia was billed as the Future Investment Initiative, and its attendees are a well-rehearsed group that wants to keep their business activities secret wherever possible.
Bad luck. I found out through a leak that what happened was far more significant than lectures on climate change or other topics that the globalist crowd likes to virtue signal about.
A truce between the Saudis and the Biden administration was actually the main reason so many senior CEOs attended the meeting, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Business, including that of the US and its CEOs, suffers from the prolonged and highly visible hostilities between the two longtime partners.
It’s true that Saudi Arabia is a significant client of Wall Street, seeking to further modernize its economy through investment banking deals while looking to our financial industry to manage its wealth. However, there is growing agreement among those in charge of the US financial system that the Biden administration’s most significant geopolitical and economic error was having Saudi Arabia as an adversary.
It will encourage the terrorist government in Iran, which is one of our shared enemies, and further push the Kingdom into the hands of our adversaries, Russia and especially China. (I’ve been told that Chinese representatives flocked to the conference this year—not because they enjoy the desert heat.) Additionally, fighting won’t provide us with the energy we need or save Sleepy Joe Biden’s presidency.
For those who are unaware, what has taken place in Riyadh annually for almost ten years is very comparable to the more renowned World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland. A more contentious host than the bland globalist WEF chief Klaus Schwab is in charge in Riyadh.
It’s Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince also referred to as MBS by both supporters and detractors. A few years ago, when MBS (then just 37) assumed de facto control of the Kingdom, he did so in charge of a nation with great oil wealth and enormous economic potential.
Variable record
Due to his nation’s frequently dismal record on human rights, he was also in charge of upholding the somewhat uneasy relationship with us. The young new ruler was expected to implement reforms, moderate the Kingdom’s anti-Democratic inclination, and modernise its economy by weaning it off of its dependency on oil.
Let’s just say that it didn’t exactly turn out that way. The crown prince implemented several desperately needed adjustments, such extending women’s rights. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil business, is expanding beyond oil into industries like technology. The Saudis still oppose Iran and continue to support Israel’s existence, albeit covertly.
Immediately after assuming power, MBS also placed a number of people under house arrest who he believed to be potential rivals. Then, in 2020, Biden ran for president and advocated for designating Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” country since the country has retained its autocratic tendencies and because MBS is largely believed to be responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who was critical of his rule.
After our incompetent leader attempted to reduce local oil output and travelled to the Middle East to implore the crown prince to increase supply, tensions recently deteriorated further. Up until MBS and OPEC announced cuts, when the Trump threatened sanctions and perhaps more, Biden believed he had a deal.
Okay, I hear you: This MBS is a horrible dude. He is only liked by Wall Street because of his wealth, control over Saudi Aramco, and the sizable state pension fund. Both are expanding sources of investment banking and money management fees for companies like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, BlackRock, and others – the same ones who are advising the White House to take a step back.
True, but the wealthy individuals who travelled to Riyadh (Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs, and representatives of significant private equity and money management businesses) also assert that dishonest people are everywhere. The Saudis are likely the most effective and crucial from a strategic perspective.
The Trump administration and previous administrations have recognised this geopolitical fact, but Team Biden’s present progressive zealots won’t.
It’s also reckless. Wall Street executives tell me and their contacts in the White House that if we truly want to reduce the cost of petroleum here at home, our time would be better spent developing pipelines. Biden’s scorched-earth attitude to MBS is harming American consumers and the nation’s national-security interests.
Additionally, the recent dispute over oil output may not be as one-sided as the White House and Democrats are portraying it to be. However Biden may have felt after their memorable fist bump in July, the Saudis claim in private discussions with CEOs that the oil output drop was well-telegraphed.
No options for supply
The decision by OPEC stems from a long-standing goal to prevent oil prices from dropping below $80-$90 per barrel. The Saudis claim they have no choice but to reduce production since Biden keeps releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the global economy is entering a recession.
The Saudis assert that Sleepy Joe must have been dozing off throughout those discussions if the White House was unaware of that.
According to what I’ve been informed, these are all comments that prominent Wall Street executives have recently made to members of the Biden administration. MBS is not a saint, as the Wall Streeters are aware, but Sleepy Joe’s shaky leadership makes the crown prince a necessary evil. Biden ought to heed their counsel and concentrate on a few actual foes.
