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  • Commentary: The U.S.-Saudi Rift Over Oil Prices Is Déjà Vu All Over Again

    Another thing that hasn’t changed is presidential blundering. Before resigning, Richard Nixon, like Mr. Biden, favored high prices as an incentive to develop alternative energy sources—and to fund Iran’s massive purchases of U.S. arms so the shah could serve as America’s bulwark for stability in the Mideast. That arms buildup in Iran alarmed Saudi Arabia then. Now the Saudi monarchy is fed up with Mr. Biden’s repeated disparagement of oil as an evil that must quickly be replaced by expensive green alternatives that aren’t yet anywhere near capable of sustaining global energy needs.

  • Thread by Col. David DesRoches: ‘There’s a marked elite and citizenry divide in the U.S. over the U.S.-Saudi relationship’

    Most Americans view Saudis as (unworthy?) beneficiaries of incredible wealth who continue to prosper under a US-funded security umbrella while they pursue a barbaric system of government. Americans say “we GIVE them weapons,” not “we SELL them weapons”... Saudis, on the other hand, feel Americans don’t understand their security concerns and play fast and loose with vital Saudi interests. In the extreme, they see us as kittens who view the region as a big ball of yarn. They have to live with the consequences of US acts.

  • Opinion: Joe Biden Discovers the Realist Case for the U.S.-Saudi Alliance

    Now a year and a half into his tenure, Biden's lofty campaign rhetoric decrying Riyadh, intended to woo devotees of the Obama-era effort to "realign" America's Middle East involvement away from our traditional regional allies and toward Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, has met an immovable object: reality.

  • The Case for a New U.S.-Saudi Strategic Compact

    The United States and Saudi Arabia both stand to benefit by renewing their central strategic partnership, argue Steven A. Cook and Martin S. Indyk.

  • Can Biden’s Visit Create a Lasting Recalibration in the U.S.-Saudi Partnership? Video

    Biden is no doubt hoping to get Saudi Arabia to increase oil production and lower the cost to Americans at the pump before the November midterm elections. Additionally, with nuclear negotiations in Vienna at a seeming stalemate, Washington must look to alternative strategies to deal with Iran that will require close coordination with regional partners, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel.

  • Military Relations and the U.S.-Saudi Alliance

    NESA’s mission is to enhance security cooperation between the United States and countries in the Near East and South Asia. The program looks beyond equipment and tactical skills in military defense, prioritizing human resource development. NESA leads many programs and workshops to develop those human resources and, in collaboration with foreign governments, establishes curriculums for military universities and war colleges that focus on teaching strategic and operational skills.

  • Perspective: The Objective Reality of the U.S.-Saudi Relationship

    As a candidate, Biden called MBS a “pariah.” The Mario Cuomo line about campaigning in poetry and governing in prose applies here: Biden undoubtedly continues to dislike MBS. But the United States does not exist in some ethereal realm of gumdrops and friendship bracelets, and eventually the two men will have to meet, because Saudi Arabia—troublesome though it is—remains a very useful country to have on your side. Its usefulness is opaque to those who see foreign policy solely in moral terms but clear to anyone with a healthy level of cynicism.

  • Democrats urge Biden to “recalibrate” U.S.-Saudi relationship

    The letter was signed by Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee; Gregory Meeks, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Adam Smith, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, Carolyn Maloney, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Reform; Bennie Thompson, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee; and Stephen Lynch, who chairs the Subcommittee on National Security on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

  • Commentary: Improving the U.S.-Saudi Relationship Is Key to Stabilizing Oil Markets

    During the Cold War, Saudi Arabia was the most dependable U.S. ally in the Arab world, a partner that shared an interest in limiting Soviet oil revenues. Today the Saudi-Russian energy alliance is a pragmatic partnership providing concrete economic benefits to both sides. In geopolitical terms, their alliance’s obvious success represents a significant net decrease in the ability of the Western powers to rely upon the Saudis and their Gulf allies in a time of crisis.

  • U.S.-Saudi Relations Finally Start to Thaw

    President Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may not like each other, but they desperately need each other—and time for rapprochement is running out. Imagine for a moment that Saudi oil suddenly disappears from world markets—or its supply is severely curbed. The immediate effects would be massively higher prices at the pump, further collapse of the Democrats’ bleak prospects at the polls, disruption of the crown prince’s modernization agenda, and a greatly emboldened axis of Russia, China and Iran. Both Iran and Russia, with China their silent partner, have strong incentives—and real capabilities—to make this scenario a reality and force the world to lift embargoes against their oil sales.