oh boy, oh woody and most people used to drink water from the harbor, but now we don't even let she drink the water because they get sick immediately, but it's not working. the land is the only way of life. these farmers know that i live in a madness or that i don't, the drought has hit us hard. we don't even plans any more. when we do the crops die, we plant seeds on both sides of the river and we take losses. you know, how much agriculture costs these days all, if god has mercy on us and gives us rain, we water the crops twice, and then they die. while body. celia has been devastated by civil war since 2011. the fighting has forced people from their homes. now the drought is denting the resolve of those who have stayed against all odds. mohammed file on j 0. ah,

this is al 0 and here are the headlines. now, u. s. president joe biden has just wrapped up a 4 day tore of, and at least it started in israel and ended in saudi arabia. biden laid out his strategy for the middle east and a room full of regional leaders. he promised the u. s. would not walk away from the region at the same event at saudi crown. prince mohammed been sal man stressed the importance of cooperation with the us. he also said adopting unrealistic policies on energy will lead to inflation. when our white house correspondent, kimberly how kit has more on what message the u. s. president has sent with his talk was almost a message to not just the golf leaders, but to russia and china that sir, look at, we're not going anywhere. in fact, that's exactly what he said is kind of a signal look if you're trying to encroach, we are not going anywhere. we're going to stay right where we are. but also think about it a, it's also a signal and may be

a sign of the winning influence of the united states as well. i mean, there was a time when the united states didn't have to say that it was just known. and so that is also as signal that say in the united states, perhaps as a little bit concerned. in fact, so much. so that really was the purpose of this trip shall anchors. parliament has begun the process of choosing the next president. prime minister minute week from a singer is serving as acting president and to a new leader is in place that should happen within the next week. rushes that military says it's destroyed ukrainian, that military targets in the western city. in the pro, at least 3 people were killed and 15 injured in the strike ukraine. it says the rockets hit an industrial plant and a nearby street or an 11000 people have been forced to evacuate that shiranda region in southwest france. in the face of out of control fires, grease has sent firefighting equipment to help that

a 10000 hector's of land having scorched u. s. so forty's, so they'll request the immediate extradition of a drug lords captured by mexican forces. raphael carro quintero, was jailed in the 1980s for masterminding, the killing of a u. s. drug enforcement agent. he was released in 2013, but he returned to drug trafficking. as all the headlines use continues herron al jazeera, a softer inside story. ah . resetting relations with royalty, the u. s. president has visited the kingdom he wants promised to make a pariah. joe biden says his trip to saudi arabia is worth the political cost. but

what does he hope to gain? and does this visit paved the way to a new partnership with this region? this is inside store. ah. hello, welcome to the program. i'm burnett smith. 3 years ago joe biden threatened to make saudi arabia pay the price for the killing of a journalist. now was the u. s. president. he's on a charm offensive. biden needs the kingdom to pump more oil to take the pressure of fuel prices. he is declared that significant business was accomplished in jetta on friday. but a positive developments from those meetings have been overshadowed by criticism, biden's visit to the kingdom and his interactions with the crown prince. our white house correspondent,

kimberly halgert reports. us president joe biden arrived in saudi arabia to a subdued reception. that may have been because of his past comments about the kingdom. we were going to in fact make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are applied. she made as a presidential candidate after a cia report suggested the saudi crown prince. mohammed bin solomon may have ordered the 2018 killing of journalists jamal could, shall g. the president's goal is to reset relations and convinced the kingdom to pump. we're all to bring down fuel prices in the united states. i'm doing all i can to increase supply for the united states of america, which i expect to happen. but strain ties have made that a challenge, evident is biting. arrived at the saudi palace, offering the crown prince just

a fist bump. a moment not well received back in the united states, cuz shock geez, publisher, fred ryan, at the washington post, calling it shameful. delivering m b as the redemption he was desperately seeking. and cassandra, his fiance warning biden, that the blood of any future victim will be on his hands. i'm sorry, she feels away. i was straightforward. back then i was straight forward to day, basically said that he was not personally responsible for. i was earlier and biden's meeting with the crown prince. the press confronted both men drove over so he will roll the dice with this was the response and the crown prince, he appeared to smirk

a serious question left unanswered with reporters. then i heard out. kimberly how kit al jazeera, sorry, arabia and the u. s. have a long standing strategic partnership. it dates back to 945 when the u. s. agreed to provide security to saudi rulers in exchange for access to oil reserves. in 1973 in the israel palestine war re add imposed an oil embargo on countries backing israel, including the u. s. in the ninety's during the gulf war against saddam hussein, sandy arabia served as a base for hundreds of thousands of american troops. but the 911 attacks were set back in relations. 15 of the 19 hijackers were sound it's. and then 4 years ago, the u. s. sanction the kingdom in response to the murder of journalist jamal kashodi. ah, let's bring in our guests in reality we have abdul aziz al gasha and he's

a research fellow a project set that focusing on saudi foreign policy in washington d. c. doug bondo is a senior fellow at the cato institute on in london. zide bell bashi is a managing partner at hardcastle advisory, a political consulting firm. welcome. so you all are jealous ease. i'll start with you 1st in re out what have the saudis got out of this visit by by them pacifically? muhammad been salmon? well, i, i would say good, good morning. good afternoon and good, good evening. well, all your viewers, i think they got a lot. i think, you know, one of the things that came about in the wake of the russian war on the ukraine was this notion that, of course, no matter how much people speak about an oil and moving away from oil or oil is still a very important commodity and by virtue or by definition than saudi arabia,

still very important in not just an important player, but an important global player. and i think this is what has been achieved so far. so moreover, i think it asserted itself also as a regional player, was able to collect these players and, and therefore, you know, this speaks to a bit more on the saudi. it was a projection, i could say of a saudi leadership still in the region. and we could see that from the, the statement coming out of the g. c. c plus summit. all right, duck, this is embarrassing the joe biden isn't having to go cabin hand to the saudis, but as i believe, he says, oil still masses. the president was rather desperate to try to find increased sources and oil production. but it does look like a major climbed down for him. and it certainly left a number of american analysts wondering which is the super bowl that the united

states looks rather weak and submissive in a situation like this. it certainly is important that the president be able to point to some benefit in terms of oil production. because prices of oil and energy obviously are very important in the american people's minds with an election upcoming. but i think the image will be hard for him to escape. and his claim to be committed to human rights. i think he's taken a major beating and that will hurt him. among progressives in the democratic party, a special ok, zide, fist, or handshake, that was about the visuals would have been someone was it is saudi arabia, not a pariah anymore. well, i think the saudis definitely got more out more out of this than the americans. the issue is here is that the president was led by interest over values. this was very much a case of re out poly seek and the u. s. just had to let it's,

it's interest to proceed what it believed. whether it's a come down like you just mentioned, i don't think so. i mean both sides were clean. what keen to kind of measure the optics of this way in advance and the, the meetings were very much administered beforehand. the cameras that were of that were allowed the speakers, et cetera. the president has been keen to say that this was mostly a visit to see the gcc with the regional countries and not a bilateral with the saudis, the disease, the saudi arabia is foreign minister, say foreign affairs that allow joe by said that the killing of jamal she'll do was a terrible mistake, but it's time the cuckoo 2 countries have moved on. is it time to move on? yes i, i absolutely think it is time to move on. and quite frankly, i think the both states have moved on, but there are still remained an element of frost illness at that elite level. and i

think you know, between joseph biden. and of course the crown prince. there was still that frost in this and i still don't think that frost units will fall immediately. and i think as they've mentioned, and i think he mentioned it very well. the fact that joseph biden was trying to display his framing of the trip to saudi arabia, that this is not really about going to saudi arabia. this is actually going to meet the g, c, c states, d, c, c plus this is about somehow is real. and you know, trying to make peace with israel and arab nations, i think that left a bitter taste in the side of the ruling elite mouse. and i, and i think you know, that is precisely why this falling at the elite level, i will take some time now. don't get clearly a little while. ok declared the white house new though would be a political cost to this meeting. but what was the alternative? well, they could have, for example,

made an arrangement with venezuela to bring venezuela oil back on. or if they had been acting no more quickly last year to really starting to go, she ation with the wrong one. could imagine bringing iranian oil on, you know, and the other is to recognize the amount of oil they are likely to get over the time frame. they're likely to get from saudi arabia. the emeralds. it's not clear to me is going to have a major impact on oil prices. the problem for the president is trying to frame this is going to see the gcc has believed by no one in washington. the co wage is a wonderful country, but that's not why the president went there to meet with him there. this was very clearly sold as a meeting with the saudis. and the fact the president emphasized so much the issue of oil. i think, you know, places it's hard for him to escape by pointing to israel and other issues which will make it harder for him. and there's great disappointment with him within some

important sectors of his own party. and that might cut back on the electoral benefit that he's looking for will come to israel in a moment, but did the americans get anything out of this? yes, the commitment to pump oil blow increase it in the long term. about 13000000 barrels . is it going to be any significant difference for the u. s. in terms of oil prices on about increase pumping? no, i think it's more of a public relations victory. mid terms are on the horizon and the president's approval ratings are only slightly higher than what the very unpopular president trump's ratings, where at the same time in his presidency. similarly, $600.00 barrels a day, extra that has been muted, is only a half just over half of, of global demand. so i don't think it's, it's huge in that respect. but you have come home say, you know, i've spoken to the saudis, i'm going to get the oil. that's almost a false narrative because essentially prices have been going down anyway for the last 30 days. and you know, in mid august we can expect the important psychological for dollar threshold,

but what this is mostly about. and i think a lot of the commentators have missed in the, in the analysis of this is that the same administration that biden was a part of 4 years ago. lost a lot of ground in the region and elsewhere. and i think a lot about this trip is about making up that ground, especially from a geopolitical perspective and not leaving this gaping wide vacuum for russia and china. a lot of a lot of this visit should be seen through that prism and the american defense bank catch up. and it's, it's not a bad idea. i mean, the integration of iraq into the why the gcc electricity network is a great, you know, step in that direction to kind of take it out of iran or bit slowly. but surely, iraq will obviously be at the summit today. but a lot of this is about g of politics because the u. s. has really lost ground in the region and elsewhere as we've seen in eastern europe as well. and part of that is the obama administration, you know,

the result of the obama administration and policies. okay, well, joe biden said, when he addressed the meeting on saturday, he said washington's not walking away. we're not going to leave a vacuum to be filled by russia. china or iran, is he doing enough now to, to try to, to make men's to make good with the gulf states with saudi arabia, partners? well, i think, personally, he's saying the right things. and moreover, i think the united states administrations before have we said the right things. i don't necessarily think he said anything new the, you know, what we heard were a lot of statements that, of principles, of declarations and statements of, of principles. but you know, time will tell, i think, just expand upon what as i had mentioned. indeed there is this notion that there is this vacuum and i think it's been prominent in the past years, especially after the arab spring, et cetera. we're where people are talking about this idea of an american withdrawal

. i personally don't think america is withdrawing to that extent. moreover, i think this is this kind of summit lent itself as an opportunity for both saudi arabia. the g. c. c plus and the united states to assert and reinforce that strategic partnership. so time will tell how, how this will develop. doug, if this a visit, as you suggest, sort of shows a diminishing of american power. it has though, been successful for israel hasn't been a big friend of israel, and this has been a very good visit for israel. well, yes, what this demonstrates is that support for israel politically in the u. s. is bipartisan. and while there is some shakiness on them, the democratic side with progressives who are much more interested in taking up the cause of palestinian human rights that among establishment,

democrats. you are very concerned about maintaining this commitment, as well as the republican party. mean, the problem is in the, in the short term that is certainly advantageous politically. the longer term i do think the question is what happens in israel is very important. and it's going toward another election which will undoubtedly result in a result more to the right. and the question is, what happens to palestinians by some estimates? there are currently more arabs between the jordan river and the mediterranean, the jews. so the question of how is real manages to be both democratic and jewish and to find some settlement for millions of people who are under occupation is very important issue. the could be explosive and i don't think anything was advanced by this trip. the presidents made an effort, visited the west bank, but i don't think that was seen is very much a by the palestinians. and i think that is an issue that has got to be addressed at some time. but zide grunting as space to south i to his railey,

i craft to fly over saudi arabia. that's a massive price for these railways, isn't it? that spots progress? it said it's a small step. it's a small step very well. probably a larger step for the region. it's also just recognizing what really happens via 3rd countries. there are of jews and palestinians that must perform the pilgrimage in saudi arabia. and there's a way for them to go. but is this some sort of pre cause of a blanket acceptance of the abraham accord? most definitely not. i think there are some decision makers in israel that were able to you know, move quite, quite well forward with the abraham records for very little in response on the palestinian question. the president made a fleeting visit to the west bank and he made the right noises. he wanted a palestinian state which was viable, independent sovereign, an important be contiguous. but those are just making the right noises. essentially,

great progress needs to be made on that issue for, for, you know, a big step towards regional piece. so i don't think israel got too much out of this . and again, like doug just said, which israel, the country has had 5 elections in 3 years. it's most likely going to move to the could. remarkably, netanyahu may even come back despite is tarnished legacy, which is a completely different israel, but the world will be dealing with. and i think it's important to catch this visit within those circumstances. but what happens in these really election is many could keep us very busy for many, many of the programs. but abdul aziz, do you think there is a chance of this visit? we'll bring a normalization ultimately in relations between israel and saudi arabia. no, i don't think so, and i think as you had mentioned that it is a very small step that has taken place more rover. i think in or i think it's important to contextualize the step. you know,

if we look back at the abraham accords, i think one of the things that can be taken away from it is that it has shifted the burden of concessions from israeli, from israeli concessions to the united states. in other words, now, one of the aspects that me, that are, is part of the calculation is not just to what extent is there great progress on the palestinian israeli issue. but also who is the right person in the white house? and i think quite frankly, that the, the abraham, the, i'm sorry, the flight over rice, as doug mentioned earlier, that it's very important for biden, to be on the side or to have the pro is really a contingencies in the united states. beyond, aside in the elections, therefore these old fly over right should be considered as a gesture. from the side you need to abide in and just say, listen, you go ahead, this is our just start to turn

a new page. you can politicize this as you want, but in regards to norma isolation, there are still a lot of things that need to be done. and one of these things, as i mentioned earlier, as the right was the right person in the white house. and i don't think joe biden is the one. okay. that the cider willingly want to have as the person to have this massive achievement or a dog normalization of relations with israel. notwithstanding. does the u. s. need to build a new security umbrella in the middle east? that brit, those include israel, egypt, i'm the gulf states. well, certainly for an american standpoint, it would be helpful to have a balance of power in the region where it doesn't necessarily expect american military involvement for any particular, you know, contingency, you know, the american people are rather tired of medicine wars. so being able to tie together israel and the amorous and saudi arabia and presumably the other gcc

members, you know, is an opportunity to help create some form of collective security with a significant military power. that is israel, the might be able to, at least initially handle problems that arise with a somewhat lesser expectation of american involvement, or at least garrison's on station. so i think this has a potential security benefit for the united states to help stabilize the middle east without quite the same expectation of american involvement. that i see you nodding away that you see this is bringing security benefits to, to the u. s. and the region this meeting, i don't see it bringing it, but it has the potential to you will have heard the king of jordan's muted calls last week for a regional nato. that's a fantastic idea, especially in the context of an eventual us withdraw. you'll of course, recall the british withdraw east of suez and for that to work for regional

military lines to work. it must involve all parties including the iranians, the turks, the israelis, much as nato brought together, the french and the germans, et cetera. without that, it could never work though the idea in principle is fantastic because these countries cannot continue to out source their security too far away. security partners. dog is a deliberate pivots of the u. s. back to the middle east. when once people would have called the gulf countries to look up to their own security, the us seems to be coming back in is that what you see? i wouldn't quite call it a pivot. i think this administration is still convinced that long term the us has to focus on china because china is the one country honor that we would call a potential peer competitor, you know, an equal economically at an equal militarily with extraordinary opportunities for

military miss important region so it's going to have to concentrate ultimately on asia, but i think it wants to show the middle east, the middle east is not forgotten. and that the u. s. is able to pay attention to the middle east, even as it might make larger changes in its foreign policy. you know, it wants it. so it's friends in the region to recognize the us is not disappearing . that there may be changes in the future, but that doesn't mean a lack of interest or a lack of attention. okay, analyses, i just want to took a quick, a little bit about yemen. one of the worlds, the worst humanitarian crisis, the world is seen. we have managed to have a 15 week long sci fi out of this. is this a, a positive that the americans can take out of this meeting? something they hope to prolong was well, given the saudis breelle desire to wend this conflict? well, i don't think it's just a desire an benefit for the united states to continue. i think certainly the

benefit of the main benefit that the united states and forgive me for being very pessimistic here, but is to claim the fact that it tried and it induced this particular kind of ceasefire. but i think, as you mentioned in your question, indeed for a very long time, saudi has trying to be tried to seek a, any solution to the situation. and i think, you know, on the ground it at times. but you know, that's very, is that very, very difficult. and so i think indeed this is welcome. and i think the fact that you know, a lot of people will try to continue are expanding upon this development. because it's for the sake of the region. either, you know, and for the sake of a prosperous region, so indeed you, we could expect a lot of politicization of this. we could expect a lot of people claiming that they induced this. but indeed, it is in the benefit of all people to see this cease fire, continue and long may it continue to lead up to a prosperous yemen. ok, charlotte,

as we begin to wrap up zion, i just like to ask you to touch on something that doug mentioned the beginning of the program, this apparent a parents of american power diminishing. and do you see that when biden comes in, the mood of via biden's visit? does that suggest to you that america, faced with climbing research in china, faced with russia, is a diminished power in the region? i think diminishing as opposed to diminished. and what's extraordinary is the same administration that biden was a part of previously was actually making its way away from energy dependency from the region. local fracking in the states had given the united states an opportunity to become less exposed as the saudis, quite smartly. and when you look back at it drove those factors out of the market and also fracking became environmentally controversial. the u. s. has now made itself more vulnerable to international supplies. for example,

those from the gulf. so from that perspective, i think it was not, it was not something that any american president expected to be doing. the broad long term trajectory was that the region was becoming less important for us decision makers. but now it seems to have research important in terms of a diminishing power. you only have to look at the increased military spending of china. what's interesting and the real highlights for me from this trip was the, the commitment to the global partnership for infrastructure. so that's the direct form of brinkman ship against the china and belt and road initiative, where the u. s. is trying to combat the influence that china has in developing countries. so it's trying to get itself out of the hole, but it said ok, we're out of time unfortunately. but thanks to our guest. abdul aziz al gulshan to doug band out on zion bel bashi. and thank you to watching. you can see the problem again. anytime by visiting our website, al jazeera dot com for more debate,

go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash a j inside story. you can also join the conversation on twitter. we are a j inside store for me, bernard smith and the whole team here fighting ah, ah, and he voice is eating out the airway lot of chinese listen actually can really hear what they really think in their own country shifting power. they case, the rise of citizen journalism has changed everything. how do happen?

it happened on social media and the undeniable impact of the mainstream narrative. australians went to the paula with those images front of mine is a war that very much came forth out in the media as well as on the battlefield. they're listening post. dissect the media on al jazeera al jazeera world meets full remarkable bows near women. survivors after those closest to them were taken away, never to return some of the 8000 muslin men and boys killed in the cerebral neat so massacre. 27 years ago. heartfelt accounts from those left behind trying to move on from the pain of the past. women who refused to die on out to 0. ah.