Saudi Arabia and the New Strategic Landscape by Joshua Teitelbaum

Author:Joshua Teitelbaum [Teitelbaum, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Middle Eastern, Political Science, World
ISBN: 9780817911065
Google: ikTDKsTuPfkC
Publisher: Hoover Press
Published: 2013-09-01T13:39:06+00:00

THE U.S. AND SAUDI SECURITY: FAILING TO UNDERSTAND THE NEW STRATEGIC LANDSCAPE

U.S. administrations are not accustomed to delving into the internal problems of allies. The view has often been that these allies know what is best for themselves, and the traditional goal of America, as the superpower-protector, is to protect the ally from external enemies, unless specifically asked to help put down a domestic insurgency. The Saudi leadership is well-educated and familiar with American culture and the ways of Washington. The Saudi envoy to the U.S., Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir, a protégé of King Abdallah, is a good example of the leadership, having spent nearly 25 years in the U.S. after being schooled at the University of North Texas and Georgetown University. Saudi leaders know how to talk to the American leadership, although they tend not to talk about domestic issues. What concerns us the most, the Saudis say, is the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Obama administration has once again taken the Saudis at their word and placed the Arab-Israeli conflict at the top of its agenda, when it should be playing second fiddle to the Iranian threat. But the U.S. should know by now that the Saudis are notoriously circumspect about discussing their real fears: an ascendant Iran and its implications for their domestic stability. Until 9/11, and to its detriment, the U.S. relied solely on Saudi interlocutors for information on Saudi internal matters. The U.S. was assured that everything was under control. That is one reason 9/11 was such a surprise.

A similar situation exists now. The Saudis are supremely concerned about an ascendant Iran (along with a Shiite-dominated Iraq) and its implications for its own domestic stability. This increases by several orders of magnitude a simple threat by a regional rival. By not understanding the close connection between a strong Iran and Saudi domestic concerns, the U.S. risks underestimating the magnitude of the Iranian threat to the Saudis.

Only a comprehensive and deep understanding of the complexity of Saudi domestic and regional concerns can really inform American decision-makers confronted with the new strategic landscape in the Middle East. The current administration seems woefully misinformed, as it has devoted the bulk of its Middle East efforts to the Arab-Israeli conflict. While pursuing an Arab-Israeli peace is a worthy goal, history has demonstrated that progress is made only when the sides are ripe for progress, and they are not yet. Romantic notions of making peace in the Holy Land have often foundered on the rocks of misguided policies and over-eager American administrations from both political parties.

President Barack Obama has sought to build on the Saudi-sponsored Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 in order to jump-start the Middle East peace process. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Saudi Arabia was under intense scrutiny because 15 of the 19 hijackers had proved to be Saudis. In February 2002, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia gave an interview to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman in which he proposed to Israel “full withdrawal from all the occupied territories, in accord with U.

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