Time to Rethink America's Alliances in the Persian Gulf?

Описание: What's next for Saudi Arabia and the Emirates? Given the rise of new leaders like Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), who infamously was assessed by the CIA to have ordered the brutal murder and dismemberment of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, should the United States reassess its alliances in the Persian Gulf?

Dr. Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President and Co-founder of the Quincy Institute, says, "I think we've seen a trajectory in Saudi Arabia in which the Saudis have traditionally had a very careful diplomatic posture, oftentimes hiding behind Egyptian diplomats or American military might, operating quietly in the background, with a new generation of leaders, particularly with MBS, but not limited to MBS. Also, you see it in MBZ. In the UAE, the UAE even more so than Saudi is a country that has really been living off of the ability to do free trade and has gained a tremendous amount of wealth. And now we see that with that wealth has come political ambitions that has caused the UAE to get itself involved in all kinds of wars and military interventions in Syria, to Libya to Yemen, all of them with disastrous effects. It is quite concerning that this new generation of leaders that are emerging in these dictatorships really think that they can take the United States for granted. And that they can pursue policies that the US is more or less forced to abide by and support because of the Carter doctrine, because of the arms trade, because of the long standing relationship that exists. And this is where I think the United States would do well to reassess some of these strategic partnerships."

This interview was recorded in 2020.