US Pres. Joseph Biden’s imperialist maneuvers in the Middle East during the last week of February were met with widespread criticism. On the one hand, he ordered the US military to bomb Syria under the pretext of “war on terrorism.” On the other hand, he refused to punish the prince of Saudi Arabia who was exposed in a report to have been directly involved in the killing of an American journalist.

The bombing in Syria last February 26 was the first military action that was directly ordered by Biden. It hit an area along the boundary of Syria and Iraq. It killed 17 civilians, who according to the Pentagon are members of terrorist organizations.

Syria called the bombing an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The attack was contrary to Biden’s promise to end the decades-old aggression of the US in the region. Currently, the northeastern part of the country is occupied by US troops and their militia allies. The Delta Crescent Energy, a US oil company, is located in the area. The company was allowed to enter and illegally operate in the country by the Syrian Democratic Forces in 2020.

On the other hand, Biden refused to impose sanctions against Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed bin Salman who ordered the abduction, torture and brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Khashoggi was known as a staunch critic of the prince who regularly wrote about Saudi’s crackdown against activists and its brutal war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia is among the closest allies of the US in the Middle East. It has the biggest oil reserves globally, and serves as the US’ source of 10 million barrels of oil imports daily.