Americans Reject a Saudi Defense Pact

There is overwhelming opposition to giving Saudi Arabia a security guarantee.

A new poll commissioned by Defense Priorities has produced some interesting findings about American public opinion on some major foreign policy issues. The result that stood out to me most was the overwhelming opposition of Americans to a security guarantee for Saudi Arabia. When asked if the U.S. should “commit to sending U.S. service members into combat to fight and die to defend Saudi Arabia,” 81% said no. If you ask me, that number should be even higher, but it is still remarkable how deeply unpopular the idea of pledging to defend the Saudis is. It is a measure of how wildly out of touch with public opinion the administration is that it continues to chase after a pact with Riyadh.