US MIDEAST PREVIEW -- WEB
Metadata
- US MIDEAST PREVIEW -- WEB
- July 7, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script US MIDEAST PREVIEW (TV) HEADLINE: Biden Seeks to Balance Interests and Ideology in Mideast Trip TEASER: U.S. to push for Israel’s deeper integration in the region, urge Gulf countries to pump more oil PUBLISHED AT: (DATE & TIME) BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: White House VIDEOGRAPHER: AFPP VIDEO EDITOR: SCRIPT EDITORS: VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP, ZOOM (WITH LICENSE), Skype PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: VID APPROVED BY: TYPE: EDITOR NOTES: )) INTRO: In his visit to the Middle East next week, President Joe Biden is set to push for Israel’s deeper integration in the region and urge Gulf countries to pump more oil to alleviate pressures on the global energy market. Observers will watch how Biden would balance these U.S. interests with American values of human rights, in light of the killings of journalists Jamal Kashoggi and Shereen Abu Akleh. VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has the story. ((Palmachim base video in frame – DO NOT USE THE MUSIC!)) ((Mandatory Credit: Israel Ministry of Defense Spokesperson's Office)) ((NARRATOR)) President Joe Biden is set to begin his Middle East trip with a tour to the Palmachim base, home to Israeli air defense systems. ((Various Negev Forum, AFP V000_32DB3WX)) ((NARRATOR)) His administration is pushing to deepen security ties between Israel and Gulf Arab countries, ((Upsound Iran launch, AFP V000_32DA736 TC 0:17)) ((NARRATOR)) including integrating their air defense systems to counter Iranian threat. ((Radio track: John Kirby is Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council.)) ((Kirby audio over his GFX)) “Bilaterally we're talking with nations across the region about air defense capabilities specifically and what we can do to assist with their defense and then, exploring the idea of being able to kind of integrate all those air defenses together.” ((Bennett shaking hands with Lapid, AFP V000_32DJ4J9)) ((NARRATOR)) A task more challenging as the Israelis are now under caretaker prime minister Yair Lapid, following Naftali Bennett losing his coalition. ((Biden getting off AF1, AFP V000_32C66KA, Jeddah file, AFP V000_1Q217K)) ((NARRATOR)) From Tel Aviv Biden fly directly to Jeddah – a first for an American president, ((Trump in Israel in front of AF1, AFP V000_VID1032061_EN)) ((NARRATOR)) following Trump’s 2017 flight from Riyadh to Tel Aviv. ((Salman and MBS file)) ((NARRATOR)) It’s another sign from the Saudis, ((Palestinians rally V000_32DG2RU, Jerusalem clashes, AFP V045_328D2PW)) ((NARRATOR)) whose policy has been to withhold recognition of Israel until it ends its Palestinian occupation. ((Radio track: Yasmine Farouk is a nonresident scholar in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.)) ((https://app.frame.io/player/02516806-40f7-45c1-a9fe-185dfd441103 TC 13:51)) ((Yasmine Farouk, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)) “The Saudis have made concessions and have even dealt with the Israelis behind closed doors. And so, if going public with this is the message that the Biden administration would like to send; that this is now possible, that progress has been made - yes. But let's not take it too far into saying that this is the first step towards normalization.” ((Jeddah file, AFP V000_1Q217K, GCC family photo, AFP V000_8Y79MV)) ((NARRATOR)) In Jeddah Biden will meet leaders of the Gulf states plus Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan, where he is expected to ask them to take on more security burdens ((Upsound tank firing, AFP V000_32CA8D4 TC 0:16)) ((Fighting in Donetsk AFP V000_32CA8D4, Xi Jinping file, AFP V000_9NT8CA)) ((NARRATOR)) at a time when Washington is focused on the Ukraine war and the China threat. ((AFP V000_324F3C6, Various Aramco facilities, AFP V000_32A62XG, various gas prices)) ((NARRATOR)) He’ll urge producing countries to pump more oil to alleviate pressures on the global energy market due to the war on Ukraine. ((MBS and Iraqi PM, AFP V000_32D98VM tc 0:20, Egypt president and Bahrain king, AFP V000_32DE8MX tc: 029)) He must balance the strategic interests of working with authoritarian regimes, with American values like human rights. ((Radio track: Brian Katulis is a senior fellow and vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute.)) ((https://app.frame.io/player/6d09d583-ff43-4d99-aefe-f31991b2ec1e TC 6:25)) ((Brian Katulis, Middle East Institute)) “It's important for America to to continue to raise these in ways, in part because of that competition with China and Russia. Certainly, Putin and Xi are not raising the cases of women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia, it's not a priority for them. And I do think, since America still is the preferred security partner, we have some leverage that we could use to have a constructive conversation.” ((MBS file, Khashoggi file)) ((NARRATOR)) Still activists have slammed Biden’s plans to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and repairing ties with Saudi Arabia – a country he once called a pariah. ((Cengiz unveiling Khashoggi’s portrait at the Mall, AFP V000_9NX7YX)) ((NARRATOR)) Including the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi – the Saudi journalist murdered with the prince’s approval. ((Mahmud Abbas file, Abu Akleh file)) ((NARRATOR)) When Biden meets President Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank to reaffirm support for the two-state solution and reset relationship with Palestinian leadership, observers will also watch how he handles the case of Palestinian American journalist Shereen Abu Akleh, who died by an Israeli bullet. Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, at the White House.
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Location (dateline) the White House
- Embargo Date July 7, 2022 18:24 EDT
- Byline Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, at the White House.
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English