Trump rolls out red carpet for MBS as US takes to green flags

The TOI Correspondent from Washington: Green energy may be out of favor in the United States but green flags are back in red-blooded America. MAGA Supremo Donald Trump rolled out the red carpet for Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Tuesday, rehabilitating a leader long shunned over the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and recasting US relations in the region amid Washington’s increasingly rickety ties with India.A ceremonial welcome on the White House South Lawn festooned with green Saudi flags alongside stars and stripes, a military flyover, and a black-tie dinner later in the evening marked MBS’ return to the US capital after a seven year hiatus, signaling not just a diplomatic thaw but a full-scale strategic reset, elevating Riyadh to the center of the administration’s economic and geopolitical agenda. The visit comes weeks after Trump effected a similar, if less ostentatious and quieter recalibration with Pakistan, which signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) involving nuclear protection with the Saudis two months ago, with no pushback from Washington, and perhaps with its blessings.At the heart of the MBS visit, coming in the midst of a furor in the capital over the Epstein files, is a raft of business deals securing billions in arms sales, accelerating civil nuclear cooperation, and solidifying Saudi Arabia’s $600-billion U.S. investment pledge. White House officials framed the visit as a moment to lock in F-35 fighter jet sales, expand artificial-intelligence partnerships, and deepen defense integration — priorities Trump says bolster America’s economic revival. It was also an unmistakable show of personal diplomacy, reflecting the Trump family’s long-standing ties to the Saudi leadership.But the spectacle could not fully eclipse the shadow of Khashoggi murder in Istanbul in 2018, which U.S. intelligence concluded MBS approved. Human rights groups, liberal lawmakers, and major media outlets condemned the warm reception as a moral retreat, with critics excoriating the administration for normalizing a leader accused of grave abuses. Trump brushed off the moral brigade, calling Saudi Arabia an “indispensable partner” against Iran and “a crucial market” he would be “a fool” to disregard.The visit also spotlights deeper regional resets and recalibrations in a region where renewed U.S.–Saudi axis intersects with Pakistan and India in complicated ways. For decades, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have shared deep military and financial ties. Trump’s outreach to both countries — coupled with MBS’s expanded investment in Pakistan and Pakistan’s rehabilitation in Washington — has fueled perceptions of a U.S. tilt that sidelines India, despite New Delhi’s centrality to the Quad and U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. Tariff tensions with India have exacerbated the rift, despite the imminence of a trade deal and a much talked-up personal relationship between Trump and Modi. India in turn is recalibrating ties with China and moving closer to Israel.In recent years, India has also developed close ties with Riyadh although that has been undercut by the Saudi-Pak mutual defense pact. In fact, ahead of the MBS visit to Washington, New Delhi announced a major energy shift, securing a landmark deal to buy 2.2 million tonnes of U.S. liquefied petroleum gas. The agreement, representing about 10% of India’s annual LPG imports, is a significant pivot away from Gulf suppliers, including Saudi Arabia.Eventually, MBS’s visit reflects a world where every country is jostling to advance its interests in transactional ways, with human rights concerns and democratic values taking a back seat.