Saudi Arabia-US Relationship
Saudi Arabia and United States share a healthy and strong relations for last almost eight decades since both the nations started having full diplomatic relations. The history of the relationship between both the countries is a long drawn one and dates back to 1930s. This relationship based on mutual respect and common interests has stood the test of the time. Though there have been minor hiccups through the journey of over 80 years, they have failed to impact or derail Saudi-US cooperation and relations. The relationship is not only based on the economic interests that both the nations draw from trade and investments but also from on various social and cultural interests that both the countries share. Saudi Arabia is one of the very few Middle Eastern nations to have such strong ties with United States of America. Perhaps, Saudi Arabia is often touted and branded as America’s window to the Middle East and righty so. The relationship and ties between both the countries have flourished and prospered over the years despite some minor setbacks.
The history of the relationship between the two countries dates back to 1933, the year when diplomatic relations and strategic ties between US and Saudi Arabia were established. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia ruled and governed by the royal Al Saud family established significant and important global political and economic influence not only among the Middle Eastern countries but also across the globe right after its founding by King Abdulaziz in 1932. While for some it held huge importance as the birthplace of Islamic faith, for others it was a significant holder of large and immense oil reserves and America was incontrovertibly among the latter category.
The two main aspects to the relationship between these two countries are oil and gulf security, the security of the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Indeed, it is believed that the strong hold and clout that the royal family continues to enjoy in the country is primarily due to the support that America extends. Though the relationship between both the nations had a slow start, it was intensified and fostered after World War II. For the starting, it was in 1933 that Standard Oil of California signed an oil concession agreement with Saudi Arabia. The initial partnership blossomed and developed into the largest oil company in the world in terms of crude oil production and exports and came to be known as Saudi Aramco (Smith 2013). The only foreigners that the royal family had dealt with till then were British and hence Americans were initially looked at with some skepticism.
Though the relationship in 1930s was in its building stage, it was only during the World War II that both the nations and primarily American realized the value and importance of the ties with the Arab nation. It was in 1943 that President Roosevelt led government in United States started realizing the importance of oil in the future. America decided to provide military and economic aid to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in return eyed the vast oil reserves that the kingdom possessed and boasted of. This agreement provided the real push and proved as the catalyst for the ties between both the countries. The rationale behind America’s close proximity to Saudi Arabia was revealed when William Knox, the Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Navy, contended that since oil was an essential and important commodity for country’s success it would look to acquire oil sources outside the limits of United States. The outside sources necessarily meant oil reserves in Saudi Arabia.
The meeting between Roosevelt and Abdulaziz in person aboard the USS Quincy in Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake in 1945 marked a new beginning in the relation between both the countries. The co-operation between the nations increased manifolds and America’s oil diplomacy worked to perfection while the royal family got adequate military and economic support from America.
Based on the newfound logic to the relationship between United States and Saudi Arabia, the California Arabian Standard Oil Company was rechristened as Arabian American Oil Company or Aramco. The parent company Chevron brought in other major players in the filed Oil to make the maximum of Saudi. In 1948, Saudi Aramco discovered the Ghawar oil field. It was a huge and commendable success since the oil field was branded the mother lode of all the fields. This discovery furthered the interest of its oil companies and US in the kingdom and provided a major boost to the relation between the countries.
The relationship between both the countries faced the first issue in 1973, the year infamously known as the year of ‘The Arab Oil Embargo.’ It was in this very year that a group of Arab Countries led by Saudi Arabia boycotted oil supplied to United States because of its support of Israel after unexpected and unprecedented attacks by Egypt and Syria. Owing to this war between Arab Countries and Israel, with America being on Israel’s side, Saudi decided to take over Aramco and by 1980 it owned 100 percent of Aramco. But this period indeed prove blessing in disguise for the relations between both the countries. Due to sudden increase in the oil prices globally, the oil earnings for Saudi increased drastically. Saudi spent heavily on revamping and modernizing its armed forces and that is where Washington pitched in. It spent billions in purchasing U.S. tanks, airplanes and other military infrastructure and hence the military relationship between the countries took off. The period between 1973 and 1992 is often regarded as the finest period for the relation between Saudi Arabia and United States. During this period Saudi became the top exporter of foreign oil to United States. The relationship during President Carter’s administration was so good that Saudi even sacrificed its relationship with other Arab oil producers to maintain its ties with U.S. The George H.W. Bush’s administration and Gulf War marked the pinnacle in the relationship between both the countries. The Gulf War was sparked by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The invasion triggered a war between both the nations. This prompted United States to declare war against Iraq because of the close security relationship that it shared with Saudi Arabia and also because of the oil reserves that Saudi possessed. President Bush sent 500,00 soldiers to Saudi to protect and liberate Kuwait. Since the Gulf War U.S. troops had continued presence in Saudi Arabia and this move indeed proved detrimental to the health of relationship between both the countries since it was one of the stated motivations behind the attacks of 9/11.
Though the period between 1992 and 2001 wasn’t as enthusiastic as the previous years, the relationship between both the countries still continued at a good pace though it lost its sheen during Clinton’s rule. But this relationship degraded after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Majority of the hijackers were Saudi nationals and even the main mastermind, Osama Bin Laden, was a former Saudi citizen. The attacks changed the dynamics of the relation between both the nations. The American attitude towards Saudi Arabia and its citizens changed. To save its face and reputation, Saudi Arabia criticized the attacks and distanced itself from Al-Qaeda, the main terrorist organization behind the attacks. The country also organized and hosted the first Counterterrorism International Council (CTIC) in Riyadh with delegates from numerous countries to prove its hostility for terrorism.
Since 2001, elements of continuity and change have been the main highlight of the relationship between Saudi Arabia and United States. Security cooperation continues to anchor official US-Saudi relations as it has for decades, bolstered by major arms sales, continued security arrangements, enhanced counterterrorism cooperation, and shared concerns about potential threats posed by Iran and Al Qaeda (Blanchard 2012). The current Obama administration has tried to revive the relationship between both the countries in the good old way. New joint efforts have been made from both the sides have led to stronger economic, educational, and interpersonal ties between both the countries.
Saudi Arabia continues to play an incredibly important role in the economy of the United States as the most influential of the OPEC countries and one of its biggest oil importers. About 13 percent of the oil that is imported into the US every year, over 100 barrels a day, comes from Saudi Arabia (arabamericangiving 2010). The relationship has expanded to various other domains too. Both the countries assist each other in counterterrorism and US continues to provide important support to Saudi to enhance and improve its defense capabilities. The United States Military Training Mission (USMTM) is an example in this regard. USMTM not only trains and assists Saudi’s armed forces but has also helped the country in achieving extraordinary and tremendous defense capabilities. The regular defense exercises between the armed forces of both the nations signify the depth of their relationship.
Apart from this US is helping Saudi in gaining and acquiring the much important title of a ‘Knowledge Economy’, dream that the current King Abdullah has often regarded so close to his heart. America is today one of the most important locations for Saudi students to gain quality education at. According to an estimate, America is a host to almost half the Saudi students studying abroad. More and more Saudi nationals have been applying for American visas for jobs and businesses. This has improved man-to-man interaction between the citizens of both countries and has made the people aware and tolerant about each other’s culture.
The relationship between Saudi Arabia and America is a time tested one. Both share interests on a variety of topics while Oil and Military relationship still continues to drive and push this relationship through all the hindrances. The relationship has expanded its domains and changed its course over the past two decades but still remains strong and robust, a prime feature of this relationship. A healthy, reliable and durable relationship between these two economic superpowers of the world is not only important for their own personal benefits, but also for the world peace and effective and efficient counterterrorism approach. The relationship has continued on for decades and it will continue to prosper in the future too since it is based on the strong principles of trust and respect for each other.
References
Smith, James B (2013). US-Saudi Relations: Eighty years as partners.
Arab News, Retrieved May 5, 2013, from
http://www.arabnews.com/news/445436
Blanchard, Christopher M (2012). Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations.
Congressional Research Service, Retrieved May 5, 2013, from
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RL33533.pdf
Arabamericangiving (2010). The importance of Saudi Arabia to the US Economy.
Arab-American Business, Retrieved May 5, 2013, from
http://www.arabamericangiving.org/the-importance-of-saudi-arabia-to-the-us-
economy.php
