Will the United States End its Special Relationship with Saudi Arabia
Jose Nino
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Is the United States’ “special relationship” with Saudi Arabia on the ropes?
According to Kori Schake,the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, US-Saudi relations are “likely unrecoverable,” following the Biden regime’s decision to “’personalize” OPEC+‘s recent decision to slash production, per an expert that Bloomberg cited.
They’ve once again personalized the problem, which will lead to another humiliating climbdown when they need something from Saudi Arabia,” Schake stated. “They’d have been smarter to have pointed out that Saudi Arabia frequently refuses US requests to use oil as a policy tool, when the Saudi economy is wholly reliant on it and has an overriding interest in price stability.”
“The relationship is likely unrecoverable,” Schake continued.
These statements come after Saudi Arabia and the US have been butting heads over the recent OPEC+ reduction in oil production.
Saudi Arabia defended its cuts on the grounds that they were an attempt to stem market volatility. The Saudis stressed that relations with the US government must be “built on trust”, according to a report by ZeroHedge.
On October 13, the White House published a statement where it mocked Saudi Arabia’s efforts to “spin or deflect.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated Biden’s warnings that the Saudi’s move would come with grave consequences.
According to one Saudi official, Riyadh is angry about the US abandoning the Arab Gulf state during times of low oil price to later beg for it to keep oil prices low before the November 8 midterm elections.
Another Saudi official claimed that the oil production reduction has more to do with balancing supply and demand, while protecting the Saudi economy with as little harm being brought about to the international economy.
The Saudis have been a solid ally for the US in the last few decades. The two countries have strong defense and intelligence ties and have largely maintained stable relations.
Though things have changed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, where several Saudi nationals were involved in perpetuating these atrocities, and Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen, which has been filled with various atrocities. The murder of Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 further precipitated the deterioration of relations between the two countries. With Saudi Arabia not playing ball on the oil front, DC is having it up to here with the Gulf Arab state.
Elected officials like Delaware Senator Chris Coons have been sounding off against the Saudis for their perceived geopolitical flakiness when it comes to aligning with DC’s grand strategy.
“For us at this moment to have a longstanding partner like Saudi Arabia help Russia fund their war of aggression against Ukraine was a very bitter disappointment and a big surprise,” Coons told CNN on October 14. “I think you’ll see both the administration and the Senate take action, and one of the most likely actions is to stop any future arms sales.”
The Saudi military heavily relies on US equipment. This includes fighter jets per analysis by senior Brookings fellow Bruce Riedel.
Should the US start breaking off its defense ties with the Saudis it will create a massive geopolitical shock wave. With Russia beginning to cooperate more with Saudi Arabia on defense matters, China doing increased trade with Saudi Arabia, and even Iran trying to ease tensions with its Arab rival, the Arab Gulf state may perhaps view the Eurasian geopolitical axis as a more stable partner on the foreign stage. After all, the US government is completely consumed by wokism and has an overly ideological foreign policy that singles out countries who do not conform to its fanatic government standards.
The Saudis could likely be the next country in the US’s crosshairs. If the Saudis were smart, they’d start engaging in some geopolitical hedging. It might be what will end up saving them in the long-term.
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