Purchase
America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia
Oxford University Press
March 2006
On Sale: March 1, 2006
384 pages ISBN: 0195167430 EAN: 9780195167436 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction Political
For fifty-five years, the United States and Saudi Arabia
were solid partners. Since 9/11 this partnership has been
sorely tested. In Thicker than Oil, Rachel Bronson shows why
the partnership became so intimate and the problems that it
spawned. This normally secretive relationship comes alive
with stories of American diplomats heaped on the floor
before the Saudi King--and a bizarre request for the Saudi
government to subsidize Polish pork exports, a request the
U.S. Ambassador refused to deliver. Drawing on a wide range
of archival material, declassified documents, and interviews
with leading Saudi and American officials, Bronson
chronicles a long history of close contact. Contrary to
popular belief, Bronson shows that the relationship was
never just about "oil for security." Saudi Arabia's
religiously motivated foreign policy was deemed an asset
when fighting "godless communism," as was Saudi Arabia's
geographic location. From Africa to Afghanistan, Egypt to
Nicaragua the two worked to beat back Soviet influence.
Overlapping strategic interests helped compartmentalized
differences around issues such as the Arab-Israeli conflict.
But decisions taken for hard headed Cold War purposes left
behind a legacy that today enflames the Middle East. In
today's fight against terrorism, Saudi Arabia is both part
of the problem and part of the solution. Not withstanding
real troubles, Bronson outlines the dangers of allowing the
relationship to further deteriorate. Saudi Arabia, she
notes, faces a violent and zealous opposition. If this
opposition gains complete control of the state's huge
resources, it will direct its efforts towards destroying the
United States, auguring a true clash of civilizations.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|