The Middle East is a volatile region, but its importance to global stability is often overlooked. Saudi Arabia, a key player in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), acts as an anchor, ensuring a well-functioning global economic and political order. A formal US-Saudi security alliance would further solidify this anchor, keeping the GCC firmly in the US orbit in an increasingly multipolar world.
The GCC states possess the resources and the will to support the US in maintaining a US-led regional order. The disruptive actions of the Houthis, who have targeted global shipping in recent months, demonstrate the potential chaos a revolutionary actor from this region can cause. The Houthis have disrupted shipping lanes, inflated insurance and freight prices, and presented a complex challenge for the US and its allies. The Houthi situation is a mere glimpse of what could unfold if a stable power like Saudi Arabia or its Gulf allies were destabilized by forces like Iran or the Houthis.
The stability of the Arabian Peninsula is often taken for granted, but Saudi Arabia, with its wealth and holy places, has been a target for jihadi Islamists like Al Qaeda, revolutionary Iran, and its proxies for decades. The Kingdom is the ultimate prize for those seeking to dismantle the US-led order in the region. Failing to recognize this and underestimate the consequences of radical revisionist elements disrupting Saudi stability is shortsighted and strategically dangerous.
Control of the Arabian Peninsula equates to control of nearly 50% of the world’s oil and gas reserves, effectively controlling global oil and gas prices. A crisis would lead to a dramatic surge in prices, not to mention the impact of destabilizing forces disrupting the heartland of Islam, granting them immense influence over hundreds of millions of Muslims worldwide. The late Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iran-backed Iraqi militia leader, epitomized this malign thinking. When asked on Iranian TV about his aspirations for martyrdom in liberating Jerusalem, he responded, “Not Jerusalem, Riyadh!” This highlights the critical importance of assisting Saudi Arabia in securing and upholding a US-led order through a formal security alliance.
Such an alliance would act as a strong deterrent against Iran, which has been emboldened by weak US responses to its provocations, including the bombing of Saudi oil fields in 2019, interference with tanker traffic, and support for the Houthis in Yemen.
Critics argue against a US-Saudi security alliance, citing a lack of shared values due to Saudi Arabia’s status as an absolute monarchy. However, this narrow focus overlooks the many shared values and interests between the two countries. Both nations desire an open capitalist world economy, predictable energy markets, safe trade routes, the containment of rogue states violating international law, and a stable Middle East. Moreover, Saudi Arabia is undergoing significant social, economic, and religious reforms, some of the most sweeping in the modern world. This process, while not without its challenges, has empowered women, doubled their workforce participation, and marginalized radical Islamic elements in all aspects of life.
Saudi Arabia has transitioned from promoting extreme Islamic conservatism globally to actively promoting tolerance among Muslim communities. The Kingdom still faces challenges in reforming its legal system and improving its human rights record, acknowledged by its leadership as they navigate dramatic change in a highly polarized environment. The US needs strong allies in this multipolar world, and Saudi Arabia, as a midsize power, offers significant value to a US-led world order. As an alliance partner, Saudi Arabia would play a crucial role in upholding this order across the region and globally.
