President Obama’s recent decision to cut short his trip to India in order to go to Saudi Arabia — in the wake of the recent death of Saudi monarch King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud — is a testament to how dependent we are on the oil-rich kingdom for geopolitical support on a multitude of issues, including energy, fighting ISIS and containing Iran.
In the wake of the Saudi transition of power to Abdulla’s half-brother, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud — and his recent cementing of power — it seems that Obama wants to take advantage of the opportunity that this new administration brings in order to ensure that the U.S. maintains a strong friend in the region.
But is Saudi Arabia a friend, or just a “frenemy”? Even as the photo shoot continues between the president and the new king secure on his throne, there are dark forces still at large, including al-Qaida and ISIS. Obama is probably in Saudi Arabia for more than just a state funeral; after all, Saudi Arabia is part of the international coalition that is fighting ISIS and helping to train rebels in Syria. But it seems that Saudi Arabia may be playing both sides.
According to numerous reports, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia are some of the countries that have been funneling money to ISIS and certain branches of al-Qaida, which gives them more leverage and power to attack. In fact, King Salman himself has many ties to terrorist groups, from the former mujahideen in Afghanistan to offshoots linked to al-Qaida.
But this "frenemy" relationship does not stop in the arena of foreign policy. It reaches into the arena of human rights, demonstrating that Saudi Arabia is an enemy to our values as well as our geostrategic goals. The gross inequality and human rights violations in Saudi Arabia include a lack of gender parity – in line with a strict interpretation of Islam – as well as sky high unemployment for youth and a blatant disregard for political opportunity based on the outdated monarchy.
In fact, the human rights violations of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are so egregious and pronounced that there the greatest controversy was stoked not because of Obama’s slight snubbing of India, but over the attire (or rather lack of attire) worn by the First Lady. Many in the Saudi delegation refused to shake her hand, and social media in Saudi Arabia lit up as people criticized Mrs. Obama’s lack of a headscarf.
But even with this insult and all the facts, the force of world politics and national security has much more sway over the White House than the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia. President Obama is a smart man, and he realizes that without Saudi Arabia, the U.S. would be out of special access to a very special resource (oil, of course) and would be severely hampered in its ability to project its power in the Middle East and also to protect its national security interests at home, despite the contradictory and hypocritical foreign policy of Saudi Arabia.
He’s not the only one, though. An entire delegation accompanied the president, the size and composition of which hinted at the seriousness of the meeting. Besides much of the top diplomatic and military brass from past administrations as well as Obama’s, also joining the president were Republicans and Democrats, including our own Senator John McCain.
What does this signal? It signals that whether Democrat or a Republican, diplomat or a soldier, old or new to geopolitics, everyone understands the importance of Saudi Arabia, and how necessary it is to keep these aging autocrats both happy and in power. The U.S. needs to do something about this dependence, so that we can speak law to Saudi Arabia’s power. How to do this is still just a very good question.
Reach the columnist at jbrunne2@asu.edu or follow @MrAmbassador4 on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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