Deconstructing the U.S.-Saudi Partnership?
Abstract
As a lynchpin of U.S. security strategy and policy in the Persian Gulf for over 50 years, Washington's relationship with Riyadh and the House of Al Saud has been a foundation of stability amidst the region's currents of instability. However bad things may have been in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iraq, southern Lebanon or any number of other situations, the U.S.-Saudi relationship provided all concerned with a degree of assurance that events would not spin completely out of control. But this relationship is now under more pressure than at any time in recent memory. Various commentators have suggested that the partnership should be restructured to reflect what is described as a fundamentally adversarial relationship. The inference from such arguments is that a strong U.S.-Saudi relationship no longer serves U.S. strategic interests. Much of the commentary on the U.S.-Saudi relationship focuses on supposed broad policy incongruence between the two countries. The two countries are said to differ in their approach to terrorism, religion, pluralism, human rights, the Arab-Israeli conflict, possible military action against Iraq, and Saudi Arabia's role and importance in world oil markets. Often left out from this commentary are the ongoing activities between the two countries that helped preserve regional security and stability over the decades, which stemmed in part from a shared strategic vision. While the term has become de rigueur of late, the United States could not have pursued its policy of "dual containment" during the 1990s without Saudi support. While many critics have emphasized that the policy had negligible impact on Iran, the policy of containment helped prevent Saddam Hussein from seriously disrupting regional peace and security during the 1990s. The Iraqi military remains hamstrung by a decade of sanctions, and WMD breakout was certainly made more difficult during the UNSCOM era.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 03, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA524826
Entities
People
- James A. Russell
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School