As of this writing, Secretary of State John Kerry is in Riad to try to rescue the disintegrating relations between the US and Saudi Arabia. This is more than just a temporary falling out between friends. The now very public rupture between the US and the House of Saud, has probably reached the point of no return.
Bandar, a powerful insider and possible future king, served for 32 years as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US.
During his tenure he dealt with five U.S. presidents, ten secretaries of state, eleven national security advisers and sixteen sessions of Congress. He had extensive influence in the US administrations and Congress. According to many analysts, during his career he was frequently referred to as both the King's exclusive messenger…and the White House's errand boy. President George W. Bush affectionately called him “Bandar Bush”.
Bandar is a master at negotiating complicated international deals and smoothing ruffled feathers, often times with large donations to “favorite charities” from what seems to be a bottomless purse.
For over three decades, he was the face of Saudi Arabia both in the US and around the world. Adored by the media and admired by the public, Bandar was a frequent speaker at major fundraising events, including in the Jewish community.
Until last week he always advocated for strong US-Saudi relations and good Saudi-Israeli relations – that he claimed have existed since January 3, 1910, when then Emir (later King) Feisal signed a peace and cooperation accord with then World Zionist Congress president Chaim Weitzman, regarding the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
If Bandar Bin Sultan, a moderate, pro-Western, anti-Islamist, high-ranking Saudi leader is leveling derogatory accusations against the US, with full encouragement of the ailing King, you know that the relationship is on the rocks.
It’s important to understand that for the last 70 or so years, the sometimes wobbly US-Saudi alliance was based on the simple premise that in exchange for America providing military protection for the family run dictatorship, the Saudis will keep the global price of oil down and, during the Cold War, provide the US with military facilities and use its incredible wealth to help keep the USSR out of the region.
But today there is a new worldwide threat: The very real probability of a nuclear armed Iran that threatens the Sunni Arab countries in general and Saudi Arabia in particular.
So what is the Saudi beef with the US? According to Simon Henderson’s article, published on Nov 1 by the Washington Institute: “Saudi Arabia has a litany of complaints about U.S. policy in the Middle East. It faults Washington for pursuing a rapprochement with Iran, for not pushing Israel harder in peace talks with the Palestinians, and for not more forcefully backing efforts to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Saudi royals are also angry that the United States did not stand behind Saudi support for Bahrain when it crushed an anti-government uprising in 2011, and that Washington has criticized the new Egyptian government, another Saudi ally, for its crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protesters.”
Any weakening of the US-Saudi alliance will have far reaching ramifications. America’s influence in the region would weaken even more, while Russia and China would certainly step in. US arms sales would decline and the price of oil could increase – both impacting American jobs and the economy.
By the time you read this column, Secretary of State Kerry will have completed his talks in the region. Tasked with putting out major diplomatic fires in Riad, Cairo (US relations with Egypt) and Israel (the recent negativity over the peace talks and reported resignations of senior members of the Palestinian team)…all in less than a week, I seriously doubt that we will see anything more than a few polite and non-committal statements to the press following each short visit.
The only thing that can alter America’s deteriorating status in the Middle East today is a US lead military action against Iran.
Agree or disagree, that’s my opinion.
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