Account For The Importance Of Saudi Arabia To The United States During The Twentieth Century.

Account for the importance of Saudi Arabia to the United States during the twentieth century.

The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia can usually be summarised by the term 'oil for security'. The theory behind it is that the United States needs oil and can get it from Saudi Arabia who, in return, asks for security. This works out in the United States' favour as Saudi Arabia is situated in a very politically and economically unstable area with many different revolutions and conflicts happening on their borders so they ask for protection from this and their enemies which the United States are happy to give as that means that their supply of oil is less likely to be interrupted. While this theory does go a long way when it comes to describing the importance of Saudi Arabia to the United States, it does not go far enough especially when it comes to explaining why the relationship has been able to overcome all the obstacles that have caused friction between the two. Many, when commenting on relations between the two, are surprised that relations have been able to last as long as they have due to the various differences between the two that can be considered very divisive. Culturally and politically, the two hold almost opposite principles in high esteem which makes it highly unlikely to see how relations are allowed to flourish between the two. Furthermore, there have been many events that have and still do occur that have split the two on opinion, for example, over Israel. On the other hand, the fact that the United States is able to overcome these differences even when they do preach about only being able to deal with countries with the same standards regarding human rights and democratic rights shows how important Saudi Arabia must be to them. Oil is one issue that is obviously very important in their relationship but there are many others such as shared strategic interests and common goals, especially during the Cold War, which will all be explored in the essay.

Primarily though it is imperative to look briefly at the history between the two. Saudi Arabia was unified in 1932 by Abd al-Aziz and since then the United States was able to start importing to Saudi Arabia certain industries and establishments that are very typically American in order to help them modernise. This was done in order to ensure that they had friendly relations with Saudi Arabia and that it remained stable in an unstable area . Another reason to ensure good relations was because it would be through these that an oil concession would be able to be secured which it was in the following year. Al-Aziz allowed Standard Oil of California a concession "to develop, produce and market internationally any oil that could be found in the larger part of his kingdom" . This proved extremely important to the United States due to the fact that at the time Britain was proving to be very difficult when it came to allowing America the chance to find oil in other areas of the Middle East. It is from this point that you start to see relations develop and the importance of Saudi Arabia to the United States to gain momentum but soon other reasons for its importance start to develop. It is Roosevelt who tries to develop closer ties to Saudi Arabia and persuades them to join them in the Second World War to fight the Axis powers in 1945 . This is because of their good geographic position for bases, for example, Saudi Arabia allows America to have an important base in Dahrain. Every President since Roosevelt has had close ties with Saudi Arabia, even Eisenhower and Kennedy who did in fact try and distance themselves from this well established relationship which shows how historically Saudi Arabia is a very important United States ally . Furthermore, even when ARAMCO and oil revenues became increasingly in the place of Saudi hands, the United States did not contest this but focused more on trying to stop international intervention into the region, especially from Britain, naming Saudi oil "the greatest prize" . It is this oil discovery that has laid the foundations for a close relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia and now, as George Bush Snr said in 1990, Saudi security was of vital importance .

As has already been mentioned, oil is one very important reason for why Saudi Arabia is a very important ally for the United States to pursue. In general, Saudi Arabia is important to the West for oil supplies. When it comes to the United States, before the Second World War, they were producing 62% of the world's oil compared to 21% in 1972 . During times of pressure or conflict, for example, the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the Arab-Israeli War in 1967, the United States still had sizeable space capacity but this soon changed with import controls and price rises meaning that their ability to be self sufficient also decreased and their vulnerability caused them to become dependent on other sources of oil . On the other hand, Saudi Arabia by the mid-1970's was arguably the biggest producer within the Middle East and the OPEC members with them being the world's third largest producer . This meant that they were able to emerge as the leaders of OPEC which meant that they were a good ally for the United States to have as they were able to influence market prices due to having the largest market share . In general, the policy that the United States has had towards oil during the 1980's is not so dissimilar to that of Saudi Arabia's meaning that it is understandable why these two countries have been able to enjoy such a close relationship with both trying to avoid erratic supply and demand fluctuations . Both have also used oil in order to further their national interests as well with the Cold War proving this.

Another issue that explains the importance of Saudi Arabia to the United States which is also closely linked with the idea of oil is security and shared mutual interests, especially with regards to the Cold War. Within the concept of 'oil for security' it is often said that security was offered to Saudi Arabia by the United States in return for oil imports but this idea was also beneficial to the United States too as it has meant that their supply of oil has on the whole been undisturbed. Having good relations with Saudi Arabia has often meant that during times of intense political instability within the Middle East and times when countries in that region have become more hostile to the oil companies in the West, the United States has been able to have an ally to support them. One example is the mutual defence pact that was able to develop between the two in 1951 . Another example with regards to oil supplies though is within OPEC with regards to the fact that when it came to the organisation wanting to place an oil embargo upon the West, Saudi Arabia was extremely reluctant to do so which was beneficial to the United States. Furthermore, with regards to oil specifically, the United States had also had a 'twin pillar' policy when it came to security in the Middle East with them looking towards both Saudi Arabia but more so Iran for stability in the region . This policy was based around mutual security interests such as the containment of communism but also to secure access to oil in the Persian Gulf for themselves but also for the West in general who became more and more reliant on oil from this region . Iran was seen as a regional policeman for the United States with the Shah acting in the interests of the West but this soon went badly when the 1979 Iranian Revolution occurred and the relationship between the United States and Iran deteriorated after this . The United States now had to rely more on Saudi Arabia to encourage and look after stability in the region and there are many other examples where Saudi Arabia has been able to act in the interests of the United States. They helped in the curbing of Iranian influence in Afghanistan after the revolution when Iranians were trying to influence revolution and helped in Kuwait in 1991 as well .

Beyond the idea of oil and security though, Saudi Arabia has been able to become important to the United States for other reasons as well, for example, due to their shared mutual interests during the Cold War. Saudi Arabia had proven itself to be a very reliable ally in the fight against the Soviet Union and communism and once again their good geographic placing within the Middle East meant that the United States were able to be in the middle of the action when it came to defending Saudi Arabia against Egypt and thus the Soviet Union during the Six Day War. It is also through their differences that Saudi Arabia and America were able to cooperate and help each other during the Cold War. The United States is obviously a Christian country whereas Saudi Arabia is Muslim but who is better to have as an ally against a country like the Soviet Union who is very anti-religious and atheist in its ideology, than a heavily religious country such as Saudi Arabia . It adds another reason as to why Saudi Arabia would want to rally against communism alongside America and goes a long way in explaining why their relationship was able to develop.

Another more artificial reason for why Saudi Arabia has been able to become increasingly important to the United States is because it has created a large, fast growing and vast market for American consumer goods. Many big businesses and establishments that are very 'American' such as McDonalds are found in Saudi Arabia and the landscape that has now developed in Saudi Arabia can be described as very 'capitalist'. Ford as well as whatever has also got their biggest dealerships in Saudi Arabia as well which shows how important the United States view Saudi Arabia with regards to a consumer market . On a less commercial note though, Saudi Arabia has been very important to the United States with regards to the weapons industry as well. The United States is aware that Saudi Arabia can get their arms from elsewhere so in order to keep military cooperation between the two going, they have allowed Saudi Arabia to purchase large amounts of weapons even during periods of arms control such as that under George Bush Snr after 1991. An example of such purchases is after the Iraq-Iran war when Saudi Arabia purchased $30 billion worth of arms from the United States . This also shows how important Saudi Arabia is in helping produce stability in the region for the United States and how they try and support them in this.

One way to show the importance of Saudi Arabia to the United States is through the longevity of their relationship even with certain obstacles and cultural differences standing in their path. Saudi Arabia has had to accept criticism from within their country and within the Middle East as a whole due to the suspicions of the Muslim religion towards the infidel West. There were definite tensions between the two during the Cold War as well that some have looked to as evidence to support the view that Saudi Arabia should not allow themselves to get too close to the United States and at times Saudi Arabia have questioned whether the United States were actually committed to their 'oil for security' policy. During the Iranian Revolution for example, Saudi Arabia wished for the Carter administration to get involved as the ensuing revolution was causing instability in the Persian Gulf but they sent unarmed planes which made Saudi Arabia question their commitment to Saudi Arabian security . This is only one example of many during the Cold War of tensions and questioning of the relationship and the intentions of the United States. Overall though, it is indicative of the importance of both to each other that despite these differences, their relationship has been able to continue and in some respects grow stronger. It is also not just the Cold War that has caused tensions between the two but cultural, more specifically religious, differences that have divided the two as well especially when it comes to the issue of Israel. The United States has famously had a 'special relationship' with Israel which Saudi Arabia has had to negotiate around, especially during periods such as the 1967 Arab-Israeli War . The issue of Israel has plagued the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia for decades but relations have always been able to continue perhaps due to the importance both place upon each other. Both acknowledge how much each other would have to lose if relations between the two did collapse and this perhaps explains why Saudi Arabia have taken on the role of peace maker between Israel and others in the Middle East as best they can without causing damage to themselves, for example, with plans such as the Fahd Plan which said that everyone should be allowed to live in peace .

To sum up, 'oil for security' is a perfectly adequate term for describing why Saudi Arabia is important to the United States if not looking to go into any depth as to why the relationship has been allowed to continue to flourish even with the various differences between the two and through the conflicts that have occurred that have threatened to ruin this relationship. However, the United States and their oil companies have been able to secure oil concessions with other countries like they have with Saudi Arabia and their relationship with said countries is nothing like the one that they share with Saudi Arabia (which countries are we talking about though?). This indicates that there is more to their relationship than oil. During the Cold War, their shared interest and common goal of defeating the Soviet Union enabled their relationship to grow stronger. There have been numerous reasons for why their relationship should have perhaps deteriorated, for example, the fact that the United States is such a close ally to Arab enemy Israel. Saudi Arabia are in some ways the face of the Muslim world so are seen by many Arabs as being traitors for dealing with Israel's ally but the relationship has managed to survive this. The problem that many historians and commentators seem to disagree on now is whether this relationship is still important now that the Cold War is over and the United States especially is questioning the relationship a lot more after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Lippman sums it up perfectly when he says that the United States sees Saudi Arabia as a stereotype of oil, terrorism and veiled women . This idea does seem to be true but what has proven to be interesting is how Saudi Arabia has responded to the attacks. They seem to now be trying to promote a better image of the Muslim world to try and combat this stereotype and hopefully the United States will be able to overcome this as Saudi Arabia has not lost any of its importance. It is still the leading producer of oil which does not look like it will change any time soon and it is still a well placed ally for the United States to have within the Middle East.