Who Cares What the Saudis Want?

Clients that are so quick to cry about being abandoned should learn what real abandonment is, and the sooner the better for all concerned.

Mohammed Khalid Alyahya whines about how poorly he thinks Saudi Arabia is being treated by the U.S.:

Simply put, an American government that seeks to stigmatize Saudi Arabia through childish name-calling while delisting the terrorist Houthi militia that fires Iranian-made missiles at Saudi cities, airports, and oil refineries, threatening our security and the lives of our citizens, is not behaving in the interests of both parties. The Saudis are rightly demanding that this kind of American behavior, which is destructive to us and to the alliance system, stop.

The Saudi government and its cheerleaders have a tremendous sense of entitlement when it comes to the relationship with the U.S. This is partly the fault of our own government because of the decades of overindulgence and catering to Riyadh’s preferences, but it is still extraordinary that a state that has so little to offer and expects so much from Washington thinks that our government is the one that needs to change its behavior. Saudi Arabia is not an ally of the United States, and these days it barely deserves the name of partner. Alyahya wants to tell us what Saudi Arabia wants from the U.S., but for most Americans the immediate response to that is, “Who cares?”