This is a smart move by Obama and his foreign policy team. After all, the world’s most absolute monarchy and the world’s most powerful democracy have long been allies because they are bound together not, of course, by common values, but by common interests: The ready flow of reasonably priced oil and, more recently, the need to fight jihadist terrorist groups.
However, a number of significant tensions have arisen in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, which a presidential visit likely will help to smooth over.
The U.S.-Saudi marriage of convenience was first initiated on February 14, 1945, on a U.S. warship as it cruised in the Suez Canal. It was on the deck of the USS Quincy where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt first met with Saudi King Abdul Aziz to discuss areas of common interest. In the seven decades since that meeting, the relationship has largely worked well for both countries.
During most of that time, Saudi Arabia provided economic support by ensuring a steady supply of oil and political backing for such American moves as the effort to repel Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and to seek a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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There will be much to discuss when the American President and his foreign policy team meet with the Saudi King and his advisers on Tuesday.
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