Saudi Arabia Is a Burden, Not a Friend to the U.S.

Ali Al-Ahmed 


The U.S.-Saudi relationship defies a simple explanation. Saudi Arabia is not a natural ally to the United States, but the country has come through for America in the past on several occasions. While the Saudis have leveraged their relationship with the United States to further their own regional and global goals, they have served the U.S. interests too — primarily with the flow of cheap oil to feed the American economy since the 1940s. This is the calculus at the heart of the odd relationship.

The Saudi monarchy played an important role in the American war on communism. Their contribution was critical during the so-called jihad in Afghanistan that overthrew a Soviet-backed secular regime and, ultimately, drove Afghanistan into more than three decades of devastating conflict — giving birth to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, leading to the 9/11 attacks.

After Saudi billions backed thousands of Saudi nationals to fight the Red Army in Afghanistan, the U.S. was so grateful it gave Saudi Arabia virtually everything it asked for. Since the end of the Cold War, the Saudis reaped the greatest benefit of the relationship by having the U.S. serve as bodyguard to bully their regional rivals and enemies, such as Iran. Indeed, after the Iranian revolution in 1979, the U.S. was at the Saudi's beck and call with its military and security forces to contain Iranian revolutionary influence, and wage wars on Iraq while the Saudis watched from the bleachers, cheering but extending nothing more than a large check. The return on this investment was more than $200 billion a year of American taxpayer-funded military presence in the Persian Gulf.

But in recent years, the Saudis have become a burden to the U.S. with their erratic behavior and at times child-like tantrums, demanding American intervention on their behalf in Syria, Iraq and Egypt. And while the Saudis pay lip service to the war on terror, they continue to foster terrorist ideology and organizations that threaten American security and interests in the Middle East. This is true in the Saudi war on Yemen that gave new life to Al Qaeda and birth to ISIS.


So should U.S. support of Saudi Arabia remain as unconditional as ever? No. The simple truth is that near-blind trust of Saudi Arabia has harmed U.S. interests, and the kingdom's policies — in opposition to the Arab Spring, funding of extremism, and human rights violations — have damaged America’s position in the Middle East. America’s needs in the Middle East are evolving from the supply of crude oil to combating violent extremism and ensuring genuine regional stability. The Saudis aren’t meeting or supporting these needs, which makes them a burden, not a friend.