Rethink or reset? Joe Biden's dilemma over Mohammed bin Salman

US president has chosen to recalibrate' relations with Saudi Arabia, but some say a rupture is required

In late 2019, as Joe Biden stood on a debate stage and boldly vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah if he was elected president, a little-known former aide and Middle East expert was examining what exactly a progressive" post-Trump stance towards the oil-rich kingdom might look like.

Daniel Benaim, a policy wonk who had worked for Biden as a speechwriter, and for Hillary Clinton and John Kerry before that, first travelled to Saudi Arabia and then began interviewing dozens of Democratic and progressive policy experts to come up with a blueprint.