GLOBAL CENTRE STAGE
relations with moderate Middle Eastern states. The Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia plays a very important role in all aspects of
the American strategy.
Since the 1990s, American foreign policy is pushing for
democratic peace, security and stability of the Middle East.
The US has broadened the scope of economic interaction in
the region, has promoted democratic political development,
and has been striving to combat what the American State
Department terms the rise of “violent movements cloaked
in religious garb”.
According to the Pentagon's recent quarterly report on US
military personnel, the number of US soldiers and civilians
working for the Department of Defense in the Middle East is
54,180; up from 40,517 during the fi rst two quarters of 2017.
The report indicates that American troops are deployed to 14
Middle Eastern and North African countries: Egypt, Israel,
Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain.
US businesses have been involved in Saudi Arabia's
oil industry since 1933, when Standard Oil of California
(now Chevron) won a concession to explore oil in eastern
Saudi Arabia. Ever since the then US President Franklin
D Roosevelt met the founder of the desert kingdom, King
Abdulaziz Ibn-Saud (in February 1945), oil, security, and
Saudi Arabia’s strategic location have infl uenced Washington
to support the Saudi autocratic kingdom.
Saudi Oil
Saudi Arabia has the largest reserves of oil in the world.
Chevron, Dow Chemical, and ExxonMobil continue to be
involved in refi ning and petrochemical ventures. In 2017, the
United States imported approximately 10.14 million barrels
per day (MMb/d) of petroleum from about 84 countries.
The top fi ve source countries of US petroleum imports were
Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq. That
year, Saudi Arabia supplied nine percent of US petroleum
imports. As the Kingdom's economy expanded over the past
decade and its stock market opened to investors in 2015,
many American (and also European) banks started expanding
operations in the Saudi Kingdom.
Kingdom’s Security
Saudi Arabia is the United States’ largest foreign military
sales customer, purchasing 9.7 percent of US exports
from 2011 to 2015. The Saudi Kingdom is at the heart of
Washington’s policy vis-à-vis Iran, and is the anchor of
American alliance with moderate Arab countries in the region.
Saudi Arabia may have a positive role to play also in calming
or at least stabilizing the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict.
Saudi Arabia, the US and Israel see eye-to-eye on issues
pertaining to Iran. The Saudis rejoiced when President Donald
Trump decided to revoke the Iran nuclear agreement. Like
US and Israel, Saudi perceives Iran as the world’s foremost
state sponsor of terrorism, and its leaders welcome American
expansion of sanctions against Iran.
The Trump administration has strived to shift the Saudis
from the position of terrorism-sponsor to a country that is
heavily invested in the American counter-terrorism alliance.
Saudi Arabia provides the United States with invaluable
counter-terrorism intelligence and, in that respect, is helping
to secure American soil. American foreign policy after
September 11, 2001 is very cognizant of Saudi abilities to
both infl ict, and to avert, harm (fi fteen of the 19 terrorists in
the 9/11 attacks were Saudis).
Saudi Arabia’s Strategic Location
Saudi Arabia is twice the size of France and Germany
combined. The country is bordering eight countries (Jordan,
Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman
and Yemen) and has two important water gateways: The
Persian Gulf in the east, and the Red Sea in the west. With
a total area of 2.15 million km 2 , it covers 80 per cent of the
Arabian Peninsula. Riyadh plays a very active role in the
politics of the region, and has high economic stakes in the
Gulf. It is presently invested in the wars in Yemen and Syria,
and is closely monitoring the situation in Iraq and Jordan.
Saudi collaborated with the US in the fi rst Iraq war in 1991-
after Saddam Hussein decided to “swallow” Kuwait, and in
2011- Saudi sent troops to Bahrain to stabilise its friendly
regime and to quell protests by the Shia Muslim majority
(70-75 percent of the Bahrain population is Shia) against the
Sunni Al Khalifa monarchy.
The Strain in Ties
Despite all these, US-Saudi relations are not all roses.
They have been strained due to Saudi’s terrorism fi nancing;
the Kingdom’s rigid interpretation of Islam (Wahabism)
which is exported to wider parts of the world and has
endangered American interests and security; Saudi’s severe
human (including women) rights violations; and the lack
of democratic representation in the Desert Kingdom. Since
the Arab Spring of 2011, the Saudi authoritarian regime
has jailed hundreds of political activists, religious scholars,
human rights advocates, judges, lawyers, journalists and
bloggers.
Still, for more than seven decades, the basic framework
of the relationship has remained intact. Despite challenges
and signifi cant hurdles, Riyadh remains at the heart of US
foreign policy in the Middle East and will continue to be so.
* Raphael Cohen-Almagor is an educator, researcher,
peacenik and human rights activist. He is presently the Chair
in Politics and Founding Director of the Middle East Study
Group at The University of Hull,UK. He is the author of
many books, most recently Confronting the Internet's Dark
Side (2015).
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 10 • Oct-Nov 2018, Noida • 7