Throughout Saudi Arabia’s long alliance with the West, one principle above all has governed its diplomacy: to keep any disagreements firmly behind closed doors. So the very public quarrel this week between Riyadh and Washington, which has seen the Saudis reject a rotating place on the United Nations Security Council, scale back cooperation with the CIA over Syria, and pledge to seek alternative weapons suppliers to the United States, is both unprecedented and extraordinarily important.
For many, the fact that Barack Obama’s administration has upset the House of Saud – despite protestations of enduring friendship from John Kerry, the Secretary of State – will be entirely welcome. The Saudis’ wealth and strategic importance have long bought them immunity from the criticism that their record of fomenting Islamist extremism and denying women’s rights might otherwise have incurred. With the shale revolution ensuring that America is no longer dependent on the Middle East for its oil, and a more pacific president (in every sense) in the White House, it is surely only natural that some distance appears. This was always, after all, an alliance based on self-interest rather than any real kinship. Read on and comment » | Telegraph View | Wednesday, October 23, 2013
