Saudi Arabia

China is Cutting the US Out of the Middle East with an Axis of the Sanctioned

by Juan Cole

Recent American policies have squandered an opportunity to engage poductively with Iran and Saudi Arabia and instead pushed them toward stronger economic development relationships with China. 

Why King Oil Rules American Politics

by Meg Jacobs

Politicians have repeatedly faced imperiled election prospects because of high gas prices, yet remain unwilling to take serious steps to unwind the oil dependency built into the American environment. 

Isaac Chotiner Interviews Deborah Lipstadt

Is partnership with repressive regimes like Saudi Arabia a good strategy to reduce antisemitism in the Middle East? 

Is there a Way for LIV Golfers to Avoid Helping Saudi Arabia "Sportswash" its Human Rights Abuses?

by Lane Demas

If the golfers who have been drawn to the new LIV tour by the lavish money offered by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund want to, they can choose to be more than mere pawns in a plan to use sports to sanitize the regime's human rights record. 

White House Declassifies FBI Report Detailing Saudi Nationals' Connections To 9/11

The Biden administration has declassified a secret FBI report that links some of the 9/11 hijackers to Saudi nationals living in the United States.

America Dominant Again (in Arms Sales)

by William Hartung

The United States continues to supply the world with arms at the expense of human rights. 

Congress May Have To Act To Punish Saudi Arabia

by David M. Wight

Political pressures have made US presidents less disposed than Congress to impose limits on the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. If arms sales are to be a lever for change in the kingdom, it will probably be up to Congress to make it happen. 

On Shedding an Obsolete Past

by Andrew Bacevich

"Sadly, Joe Biden and his associates appear demonstrably incapable of exchanging the history that they know for a history on which our future may well depend. As a result, they will cling to an increasingly irrelevant past."

Joe Biden is Making Clear that Saudi Human Rights Violations Won’t be Ignored

by Nicholas DeAntonis

President Biden's recent affirmation of an American commitment to human rights in discussions with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud fell short of many demands for action against the Saudi regime. But it is a step in reforming a relationship in which human rights have not been an afterthought, but a non-thought. 

How Abraham Lincoln Can Inspire Peace for Yemen

by William Lambers

The postwar "friendship train" campaign involved Americans personally in delivering food to the hungry in Europe, and symbolized the nation's larger commitment to the Marshall Plan. A similar broad effort could help advance the policies needed to end the humanitarian crisis of war and starvation in Yemen. 

9/11 Families Outraged by 'Massive Coverup’ Linking Saudi Arabian Official to Hijackers

The recent inadvertent revelation of the name of a Saudi official believed to have aided the 9/11 hijackers has renewed calls by many victims' families for much greater transparency about the Saudi regime's involvement in the attacks. 

The Saudis, the Jews, and FDR's Dog: The Opening of the US-Saudi Relationship

by Rafael Medoff

Recent commemorations of FDR's diplomatic meeting with King Abdul Aziz in 1945 obscure unsavory aspects of the origins of the US-Saudi relationship. 

The United States and Saudi Arabia aren’t allies. They never have been.

by Ellen R. Wald

One of our key ideas about the Middle East is wrong.

Iran Might Be America’s Enemy, but Saudi Arabia Is No Friend

by Andrew J. Bacevich

Bacevich argues that after last week’s refinery attack, Trump should be careful about throwing America’s weight behind an unreliable “ally.”

Our Man in Riyadh

by Andrew Bacevich

Abizaid of Arabia

Saudi Textbook Withdrawn Over Image of Yoda With King

How they had ended up together in a textbook in a country with no public movie theaters was anyone’s guess. Even the Saudi artist who created the image had no idea.

The Trump Doctrine in the Middle East Is to Follow Saudi Arabia’s Lead

by James L. Gelvin

This explains what sparked the Saudi-Qatari Cold War.

How the Saudi-Qatar Rivalry, Now Combusting, Reshaped the Middle East

Few countries have ever grown from client state to regional power. Qatar managed it in just a few years.

Why is the U.S. So Committed to Saudi Arabia?

by Aaron Brown

Is maintaining the U.S.-Saudi relationship in its current condition worth all of the other headaches that accompany it?

Trump's Saudi Speech: Pretty Good

by Daniel Pipes

It's a mixed performance, but overall positive.