The Atlantic’s Jeff Goldberg recently noted President Obama “is clearly irritated that foreign-policy orthodoxy compels him to treat Saudi Arabia as an ally.” Yet there the president was this week in Riyadh, spending two days trying to fi꧃x relations — even after the Saudi king snubbed him on arrival.
US-Saudi relations will never be what they once wer🧜e. But Obama’s learned (as will his successor) thaꦯt working with the House of Saud beats the alternative.
That’s why Obama has actually deepened military ties with Riyadh, he♛ld his tongue about their war atrocities in Yemen and Bahrain — and even indicated he’d veto the bill now before Congress to let Americans sue the Saudis for 9/11-related damages.
Yet he still got dissed at the start. King S✃alman personally greeted all other participants in the regional conference — kings, emirs and potentates from the Gulf and as far away as Morocco. But only the governor of Riyadh and the foreign minister met Obama at the airport.
Why the slight? Iran.
The presid🌠ent adm𓃲itted in Riyadh that America and the Gulf states have “tactical differences” over the Iranian regime. But the Saudis hear Obama’s constant lecturing about their need to “share the region” with the Iranians — and his neglect of other Arab allies in the region — as far from “tactical.”
Th🅠ey see the threat from Tehran as existential — and feel fundamentally betrayed not just by the nuclear deal (which keeps getting more beneficial for the mullahs), but by Obama’s wider bid at a long-term understanding with Iran.
This, as the current generation of the Saudi monarchy is about to disappear — and new leaders reconsider the alliance that was forged in 1945 between President Franklin Roosevelt and King Abdu▨l Aziz ibn Sau🍎d (Salman’s father).
America’s rethinking, too.
The Saudis are harsh on foreigners and o😼n religious and ethnic minorities, not to mention women.
They stone heretics, cut off the arms of thieves, and behead other criminals. Worse: They still insist on spreading worldwide the ultra conservative Wahabi form of Sunni Islam that serves as the ideological basis for al Qaeda, ISI✃S and endless other terror.
Yet the prin🌌ces now know that those jihadis pose as big a danger to them as to us — so they’re fighting them.
Riyadh shares as much valuable intelligence with US counterparts as any other nation. 🌠To ℱweaken Iran, the Saudis also keep pumping oil, keeping world energy prices low. And yes, as the next president will discover, having a regional bulwark against Iran will help us, too.
Meanwhile the Mideast is disintegrating around them. States are falling apart, becoming havens for Sunni jihadis and Iranian-backed ter😼rorists. Yet the Gulf monarchies, as well as those in Jordan and Morocco, remain relatively stable — and maintain close ties with America.
The Saudi king’s 30-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman, is beingꦗ groomed to become the next generation’s first monarch.
He already controls the military and the country’s economy. He’s d𓂃etermined to assert his country’s leadership in the region — and is doing so ruthless♔ly, and not always with much strategic deep thinking.
The hopeful might note he recently cited “Thatcherism” as his favorite model for hi𒆙s country’s future economy. But will he allow persons of Thatcherඣ’s gender to get drivers’ licenses? Not likely.
In any case, his policies are a clear break with the past. ✃Riyadh once almost solely relied on America for its security needs; it’s now growin♏g much more independent – and aggressive.
Wary of Obama’s never-ending chase of Iranian “moderates,” unnerved by his withdrawal from US leadership in the region, they’re hedging their bets by seeking clos🧸er ties with🐷 China, Russia and other powers.
Both Washington and Riyadh have reason to pull back — some. But💜 the Saudis know neither Moscow nor Beijing can make a true ally.
As for us, well, why not simply ignore the region? Donald Trump said Thursday we’d’ve been better off if we “never lꦬooked at the Middle East.” But the Obama era has taught us the consequences of non-action can be devastating.
Just look🀅 at Syria, Libya and Yemen — and imagine Saudi Arabia, the country of Islam’s holiest sites, collapsing. That’s the wettest dream of ISIS chief Abu-Omar al Baghdadi. The ensuing chaos would help him truly establish his medieval caliphate, funded by vast petrodollars.
We’re better off with Mohammed bin Salman, warts and a♏ll. That’s why the next president has no better choice than to revive — and perhaps refigure — the relationship.