US Discovering 'Values' Are Optional When Oil's Involved
The article frames shifting US-Saudi relations as a new development, suggesting Washington is now simply 'negotiating from a position not of absolute dominance.' This convenient amnesia overlooks decades of unwavering US support for the Saudi monarchy, even as the Kingdom executed dissidents, suppressed women's rights, and launched devastating wars in Yemen. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018,
a US resident and Washington Post columnist, prompted a brief, performative outrage from the US establishment before business resumed as usual. One might wonder if these 'values' are merely talking points for public consumption, conveniently shelved when arms contracts, like the $650 million sale to Saudi Arabia approved by the Biden administration in 2021, enter the chat. The US has supplied
Saudi Arabia with 79% of its arms imports since 2016, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data. It seems the 'imposition of values' is directly proportional to how much strategic value—or oil—a client state provides.