The U.S. Has Deep Ties to Saudi Arabia — But Disentangling Ourselves Isn’t Impossible

Heather Hurlburt wrote for New York Magazine about the dynamics involved in the US-Saudi relationship.

There is one last reason, regardless of who sits in the White House, for caution when thinking about changes to the relationship. Rapid change in the Middle East — or anywhere, for that matter — raises the risks of violence, instability, and human suffering. Washington has been so deeply implicated in the region’s arrangements for decades that it is just wrong to image we could dust our hands and walk away without any human cost following us.

Still, if Washington wants to disentangle itself, there are steps it can take. The fact that those would be slow and led by Congress might actually, given the risk of instability and violence, be just right. Congress can slow down the spigot of military aid and add stronger conditions to get serious about Yemen, where dozens of civilians are dying as horribly as Khashoggi every day. Congress can ease off the energy policies that promote fossil fuels. Congress can limit the administration’s gratuitous attempts to heighten tensions with Iran; there are plenty of real issues in Iranian behavior without creating non-issues. And Congress can insist that more information be released on what we knew, and when, about the plot to murder a journalist in a consulate, historically a place of refuge. Whether the current batch of lawmakers — or perhaps those elected in November — are willing to take any of those steps is another question.