Saudi Arabia and the US have long enjoyed uneasy, yet lasting ties centered around two premises: i. the sanctity of oil in the global economic spheres and ii. countering the Middle Eastern influence of joint hostile foes like the USSR (when it existed) and Iran. With the discovery of vast reservoirs of oil in the Middle Eastern kingdom, and the willingness of the United States to maintain a grip on international matters, such an alliance seems as natural as snow in December. However, with events that have built up over the years in the Arabian peninsula, it is my opinion that the US can no longer turn a blind eye towards the ideological inconsistencies of its ties to the authoritarian Middle Eastern kingdom.
Firstly, some context regarding the US in the international arena is needed. Back in the old days when the USSR existed, the US characterized itself as a freedom defending, god-fearing, economically prosperous nation. Meanwhile, the USSR was described as a satanic, poor and tyrannous regime. This foundation was supported by a US policy of preventing communism from spreading from where it already existed. Such a policy resulted in devastating proxy wars between nations backed by the US on one side and the USSR on the other side -Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan. For the US, allies with strong governments were seen as necessary to prevent this spread of communism. Saudi Arabia fit in really well – they were god-fearing, had strong leadership and wanted to prevent Soviet power in their region. Furthermore, a partnership with the US was beneficiary for Saudi Arabia as well, who got access to large markets for oil in the Western economies as a result of their friendly ties with the US.
This symbiotic relationship transitioned flawlessly into the post-Soviet era. With the rise of islamic terrorism in the Middle East, threatening US assests throughout the world, interests were high in maintaining strong US-Saudi relations. The rise of Iran as a hostile force towards both the Saudis and the Americans further cemented the need for a strong alliance.
However, this apparent “need” for an alliance needs to be critically counterweighted with the ethics of the US tying interests with Saudi Arabia. Looking back at the Soviet era, Saudi Arabia might have been a bulwark against communism, yet with its authoritarian, ultra-conservative Islamic government having no basic freedoms represented a satanic power that the US should have been uneasy about. The oil crisis of the 70s serves to illustrate how uneasy ties have been between the nations at times, because of their differing stances on issues other than a control of the oil supply and prevention of the spread of power to hostile forces. Moreover, the US’s image as a democratic regime who acts for the rights of people as opposed to the devilish Soviet Union was severely blemished by ties to countries like Saudi Arabia, who registered death penalties on its citizens for merely criticizing the government. Alas, as far as cold war policies by the US is concerned, this aspect of looking at democratic choices of other countries was frequently overshadowed by the zeal for regional power. Thus, in the context of cold war era politics, US-Saudi relations were somewhat justifiable on the grounds that the US supported worse regimes.
In modern times, however, Saudi Arabia has constantly proven to be a thorn on the US’s side. The Saudi form of governance espouses Wahabism, an extreme sect of Islam that literally interprets many verses of the Quran. With the rise of global terrorism, many analysts have pointed out that despite Saudi Arabia’s apparent willingness at tackling terrorism side by side with the United States, the fundamentals of their philosophy prevent actions by the government that are in line with US policy. This can be illustrated by the fact that many of the hijackers on the day of 9/11 were Saudis. Furthermore, there have been many claims that Saudi Arabia itself actively supports pro-Sunni terrorist groups in the Middle East against Iran and Syria. Does the US need a realignment in relations with the Saudis?
Lastly, when analyzing recent escalations in the Yemeni war, there are no doubts that the Saudis are guilty of severe war crimes. Having bombed a school bus, the Saudis claimed it was a small “mistake”, whereas their heavy carpet bombing of the region suggests such “mistakes” happen with high frequency, thus causing bloodshed in the region. The US is directly implicated because the bombs used in these bombing sprees were sold by the US as part of billions of dollars worth of arms deals with the kingdom. Moreover, there are signs that the Saudis have developed an arrogance that their actions will not warrant any repercussions because of their relationship with the US. This is clearly seen in the recent disappearance and murder of US-based Saudi dissident Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi Arabian government.
These recent actions by the Saudis represent a direct attack upon the principles of the United States. The murder of a US-based journalist who entered a Saudi consulate in Turkey for the benign intentions of obtaining divorce papers should cause serious alarm-bells to ring in the US. Failure to act by the US will not be very surprising, however. There have been many instances in the past, like the pre-WW2 limits on Jewish immigration that resulted in countless lives being lost in Europe, which suggest that despite Saudi Arabia flirting dangerously with acts antithetical to the US, there will be no strong US response.
With the volatile Trump in power in the US, and a “reformer” Salman in power in the Arab kingdom who makes it his mission to assassinate one of his strongest critics, the future of US-Saudi relations seems on the verge of weakening yet again. But will it prove to be a red herring like many instances on the past, or will the US finally muster the courage to do something about their rowdy Middle Eastern ally? I think the time is nigh for just action against the Saudis, who are culpable in every sense of the word.
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