Saudi Arabia–United States relations

Saudi Arabia–United States relations

Saudi Arabia-United States relations are bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have had full diplomatic relations since 1933. [cite web|url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080517.html|title=President's Radio Address|publisher=The White House|date=May 17, 2008 "We [in May 2008] celebrated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia."]

Pre-9/11 relationship with the United States

United States recognized the government of King Ibn Saud in 1931, and two years later, in 1933, Ibn Saud granted a concession to the U.S. company, Standard Oil of California, allowing them to explore for oil in the country's Eastern Province, al-Hasa. The company gave the Saudi government £35,000 and paid it other assorted rental fees and royalty payments. In exchange, a newly formed subsidiary of Standard Oil, California-Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), was given exclusive rights to develop oil fields in the region. In 1938, CASOC struck oil near Dhahran, but production over the next several years remained low—only about 42.5 million barrels between 1941 and 1945; less than 1% of the output in the United States over the same time period. [Klare, 31]

U.S. officials initially paid little attention, not sending a resident ambassador to the country until 1943. However, as World War II progressed, the United States began to believe that Saudi oil was of strategic importance. As a result, in the interest of national security, the U.S. began to push for greater control over the CASOC concession. On February 16, 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt declared that "the defense of Saudi Arabia is vital to the defense of the United States", thereby making possible the extension of the Lend-Lease program to the kingdom. Later that year, the president approved the creation of the state-owned Petroleum Reserves Corporation, with the intent that it purchase all the stock of CASOC and thus gain control of Saudi oil reserves in the region. However, the plan was met by opposition, and ultimately failed. Roosevelt continued to court the government, however—on February 14, 1945, he met with King Ibn Saud aboard the USS "Quincy" for over five hours, discussing topics such as the countries' security relationship and the creation of a Jewish country in the Mandate of Palestine. [Klare, 33-36]

CASOC was later renamed the Arabian-American Oil Company (Aramco). The agreement between the company and the Saudi kingdom was modified several times over the years. In 1950, Saudi Arabia and Aramco agreed to a 50-50 profit-sharing arrangement, and a series of agreements between 1973 and 1980 resulted in the Saudis' regaining full control of the company. In 1988, King Fahd issued a royal decree establishing the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, known as Saudi Aramco, to replace Aramco.

In 1951, under a mutual defense agreement, the U.S. established a permanent U.S. Military Training Mission in the kingdom and agreed to provide training support in the use of weapons and other security-related services to the Saudi armed forces. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assisted in the construction of military installations in the kingdom. This agreement formed the basis of what grew into a longstanding security relationship. Two years later, King Abdel died and was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Saud, who was known for his reputation as a spendthrift. Under King Saud, the kingdom's treasury diminished rapidly and he was forced to turn over direct control of government affairs to his half-brother Faisal from 1958 to 1961. In 1964, the royal family and religious leadership forced Saud to abdicate in favor of Faisal.

In October, 2001, The Wall Street Journal reported that Crown Prince Abdullah sent a critical letter to George W. Bush on August 29. He warned that Saudi Arabia was being put in an untenable position and reportedly wrote: "A time comes when peoples and nations part. We are at a crossroads. It is time for the United States and Saudi Arabia to look at their separate interests. Those governments that don't feel the pulse of their people and respond to it will suffer the fate of the Shah of Iran."

Post 9/11 relationship with the United States

Nineteen men affiliated with al-Qaeda, including 15 Saudi nationals, hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners, crashing two of the planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane into each tower, which caused both towers to collapse within two hours. Hijackers of the third aircraft crashed that plane into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth hijacked aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane from the hijackers; that plane crashed into a field in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Approximately 3,000 people died in these attacks.

Saudi Arabia issued a statement on the day of the terrorist attacks on America's World Trade Center and Pentagon, calling them "regrettable and inhuman." Saudi recognition to the Taliban stopped and as of mid-November 2001, the Bush administration continued to publicly praise Saudi support for the war on terrorism. However, published media reports have indicated U.S. frustration with Saudi inaction. Although 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, publicly the Saudis were not cooperating with Americans wanting to look at background files of the hijackers or interview the hijackers' families.

Saudi Arabia engaged the prominent Washington D.C. lobbying firm of Patton Boggs, headed by Thomas Boggs (brother of Cokie Roberts of ABC News and National Public Radio), as registered foreign agents in the wake of the public relations disaster when knowledge of the identities of suspected hijackers became known. They also hired the PR firm Qorvis for $14 million dollars a year. Qorvis engaged in a PR frenzy that publicized the "9/11 Commission finding that there was 'no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded [Al Qaeda] '—while omitting the report's conclusion that 'Saudi Arabia has been a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism.'"cite news|last=Kurlantzick|first=Joshua|title=Putting Lipstick on a Dictator|publisher="Mother Jones"|date=2007-05-07|url=http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2007/05/extreme_makeover.html|accessdate=2007-08-22]

Saudi Arabia introduced tourist visas in 2004 although it has always issued visas for Hajj pilgrims.

Principal U.S. Officials

* Ambassador—Ford Fraker
* Deputy Chief of Mission--Michael Gfoeller
* Counselor for Consular Affairs—Kathleen Riley
* Counselor for Economic Affairs—Robert Murphy
* Counselor for Political Affair--David Rundell
* Counselor for Political-Military Affairs--Clarence Hudson
* Counselor for Public Affairs—Susan Ziadeh
* Consul General, Dhahran--John Kincannon
* Consul General, Jeddah--Tatiana Gfoeller

See also

* Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia
* Foreign relations of the United States

References


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