Should U.S.-Saudi Alliance Be Saved?

Townhall.com ^ | October 16, 2018 | Pat Buchanan

[fastrock]

MsB is bringing SA into the 21st Century. Also there’s enough being found to confirm that the “reporter” was a bad actor. His father was a arms dealer, so this could be retribution for an action of his father. Arab culture allows for little forgiveness.

[kabar]

For the foreseeable future, the Kingdom will continue to pump out 8 Million bbls a day. They can go up to 10 million bbls if they want.

As far as the technology is concerned, I have no doubt that China and Russian can replicate our technology. We are still dependent on Russia to get us to the Space station.

[kabar]

Oil is a fungible commodity. Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of crude oil during 2017:

Saudi Arabia: US$133.6 billion (15.9% of total crude oil exports)

Russia: $93.3 billion (11.1%)

Iraq: $61.5 billion (7.3%)

Canada: $54 billion (6.4%)

United Arab Emirates: $49.3 billion (5.9%)

Iran: $40.1 billion (4.8%)

[Celerity]

When Saudi Arabia welcomed Trump, they treated him like royalty.

Seriously, he made them his bitch. There was no bowing, no worshipping at their feet.

Our president demanded the best of the best be rolled out for his arrival. When he got home, he didn’t elevate them above anyone else. This is how the American President should behave, this is how I want to be represented on the global platform.

[kabar]

At least the Saudis and Kuwaitis paid the financial costs for our involvement in the first Gulf War—close to 30 billion dollars.

[MplsSteve]

“The Russians and Chinese will fill the vacuum left by the US departure. And add the radical Islamists. The Kingdom has the largest proven reserves in exportable oil in the world. Its impact on the global economy cannot be underestimated. We would be fools to sever our relationship over the death of a Saudi passport holder.”

Agreed.

[353FMG]

The weapons sale to Saudi should be saved for the sake of the American worker.

[353FMG]

The weapons sale to Saudi should be saved for the sake of the American worker.

[bgill]

This muslim brotherhood dead journalist is no concern of the US so we should keep things as they are with SA.

[McGavin999]

Oh by all means, end the relationship. That way Iran can take over the Middle East, destroy Israel, and then turn their attention to us. BUT, we have principles.

To be honest with you I don’t care what they did to this guy.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

"What if you find in the end, that British Intelligence was behind the Trade Center???"

or the Israelis
or the Bush Administration
or the Illuminati
or the Zeta Reticulans
or ...

[SunkenCiv]

But before we separate ourselves from the Riyadh regime, we should ask what is the alternative if the House of Saud should be destabilized or fall? When Egypt's King Farouk was overthrown in 1952, we got Nasser. When young King Faisal was overthrown in Baghdad in 1958, we eventually got Saddam Hussein. When King Idris in Libya was ousted in 1969, we got Qaddafi. When Haile Selassie was overthrown and murdered in Ethiopia in 1974, we got Col. Mengistu and mass murder. When the Shah was overthrown in Iran in 1979, we got the Ayatollah. As World War I, when four empires fell, testifies, wars are hell on monarchies. And if a new and larger Middle East war, with Iran, should break out in the Gulf, some of the Arab kings, emirs and sultans will likely fall. And when they do, history shows, it is not usually democrats who rise to replace them.

With Friends Like These | Pat Puchanan | October 12, 2018 | Townhall

[editor-surveyor]

.
Sadly, it has to, because of Iran and Syria’s threat to the entire near east.
.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Saudi Arabia is actually a creation of Roth Schild Zionism (essentially the Vatican)
.

[editor-surveyor]

.
I tend to agree.

[hinckley buzzard]

This is a well worn path to the issue of realpolitik vs Human rights/moralism. If the Saudis want to off one of their own people, what does that imply for US foreign policy as a nation? As you point out, Carter made “human rights” a cornerstone of his foreign policy. It was a catastrophic failure, for which we are still paying a heavy price. To “blow up” our relationship with the Saudi’s would be an equally catastrophic squandering of a key ally in a region of vital national interest.

Buchanan should go back to the pub and leave policy to the professionals.

[Jacob Kell]

You left out the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing of our Marines. 241 Marines dead, killed by Islamic Jihad, backed by Iran. SO it should be more like:

World’s Leading Sponsor of State Terrorism Iran: 241 (and Islamic Jihad was fully backed by Tehran, whereas the 9/11 hijackers didn’t do the arrack at the behest of Riyadh government).

[Liz]

The Saudis foolishly placed all their multi-million dollar bets on 2016 Hillary and were left in the lurch when she bombed.

ITEM <><> Prince of Abu Dhabi and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahayan and the Al Nahayan family of Abu Dhabi's $5,000,000 donation to the Clinton Foundation's Global Initiative. got them (A) access to HRC at State Dept, and, (B) a $500,000 environmental speech by Bill Clinton given at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi while HRC was meeting in Washington with UAR's Shaikh Abdullah.

ITEM<><>EXCLUSIVE: Persian Gulf Sheikhs Gave Bill & Hillary $100 Million [VIDEO] A Daily Caller News Foundation investigation reveals that Bill and Hillary Clinton received at least $100 million from autocratic Persian Gulf states and their leaders, potentially undermining Democratic presidential candidate Hillary’s claim she can carry out independent Middle East policies.

ITEM <><> As a presidential candidate, the amount of foreign cash the Clintons have amassed from the Persian Gulf states is “simply unprecedented,” says national security analyst Patrick Poole. “These regimes are buying access. You’ve got the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. There are massive conflicts of interest. It’s beyond comprehension,” Poole told TheDCNF in an interview.

ITEM <><> Overall, the Clinton Foundation has received upwards of $85 million in donations from five Persian Gulf states and their monarchs, according to the foundation’s website. Activist groups have charged the five states — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — committed numerous human rights abuses.

ITEM <><>the Saudis helped stage Hillary's election night "victory"---giving her a huge expensive flat screen TV supposedly to air her crashing through a symbolic 500,000 dollar glass ceiling. (This from a kingdom where women are not allowed to drive).

ITEM <><> Several Persian Gulf states contributed millions to the Clinton presidential library in Arkansas.

ITEM<><> Saudi Arabia Funded 20% Of Hillary's Presidential Campaign, / Zerohedge ^ | Jun 14, 2016| Tyler Durden / FR Posted by xzins

(NOTE: It is illegal in the United States for foreign countries to influence the outcome of elections by funding candidates. That appears not to have stopped the Saudis, however.)

“Saudi Arabia provided with full enthusiasm 20 percent of the cost of Hillary Clinton’s election"......the report quoted Saudi Prince Mohammed as having said. According to the US Federal Election commission, over the past two years Clinton has raised a little more than $211.8 million. 20% of this sum is $42.4 million. The Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday that the senior royal was due to fly to Washington where he will meet Obama admin officials to discuss US-Saudi ties. --SNIP--

ITEM<><> Links between Saudi Arabia and the Clinton family, including with Hillary’s campaign, are well reported. In 2008, it was revealed that the Gulf kingdom had donated between $10m and $25m to the Clinton Foundation, a charity set up by Hillary’s husband and former US President Bill Clinton.

ITEM<><> Last year the Centre for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court paid public relations firm the Podesta Group $200,000 for a month- long project to provide “public relations services”. The Podesta Group was founded in 1988 by brothers John and Tony Podesta. John Podesta is the chair of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

Saudi Royals greet then-Secy Hillary (she checks to make sure she's on-camera).