As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden laid out a tougher line on Saudi Arabia than any U.S. president in decades. He said he would make the kingdom “pay the price” for human rights abuses and “make them in fact the pariah that they are.” But if Biden is making Saudi Arabia a pariah now, it's a pariah with benefits.
While Biden announced Thursday he was making good on his campaign commitment to end U.S. support for a five-year Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen, his administration is making clear it won’t abandon U.S.
military assistance for the kingdom, and plans to help Saudi Arabia strengthen its own defenses. His approach reflects the complexity of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.