Saudi Arabia and the UAE aren't vassal states of the US
Jason D. Greenblatt served as White House Middle East envoy in the Trump administration. He is the host of "The Diplomat" podcast on Newsweek and author of the new book "In the Path of Abraham." Follow him @GreenblattJD. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion at CNN.
(CNN)After being offline for 25 hours observing Yom Kippur, I opened my phone, and the news reports flooded in. The most compelling story was OPEC+'s decision to reduce oil production significantly, which understandably caused much consternation in Washington.
Jason D. Greenblatt
As a result, some Democratic lawmakers are agitating to pull all US troops out of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, claiming the decision
is "a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that
they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine," this
"despite President (Joe) Biden's overtures to both countries in recent
months."
I
think what is happening to Ukraine is atrocious. I also don't like
paying higher gasoline prices any more than the next person, especially
in this wild inflation world we are living in. But these lawmakers' accusation is disingenuous, dishonest and largely political.
While
OPEC+'s decision does harm the United States, we cannot ignore the fact
that these countries have their own national interests and strategies. Saudi Arabia, the UAE
and others have grand, nation-transforming plans that are breathtaking
in scope and extraordinarily expensive. We don't have the right to tell
them to set aside their plans and sell us their valuable assets at
discounted prices.
Similarly, arguing, as Sen. Dick Durbin has argued,
that US foreign policy can be imagined "without (the Saudi) alliance"
is unrealistic and harmful to the interests of the US and our allies in
the Middle East.
These
lawmakers also criticize Saudi Arabia and the UAE for making their
decisions despite Biden's overtures to them. That's a distorted view. If
we take the case of Saudi Arabia, recall that as a candidate, Biden
said that we needed to recalibrate the US-Saudi relationship, that he
would not sell more weapons to the Saudis, vowed to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah," and said "there is little socially redeeming value" in the kingdom's present government.
Once in office, Biden did not take threats against Saudi Arabia (or the UAE) seriously; he mostly paid lip service to such attacks.
No
overtures would have been needed if Biden had handled the relationship
with the kingdom differently from the start. Instead, after he tried to
kick the kingdom and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the curb,
then feebly tried to mend fences with a brief trip and a fist bump, these critics are disappointed that the President's brief visit to the kingdom did not yield the desired results.
Biden
was disappointed in OPEC+'s decision "while the global economy is
dealing with the continued negative impact of (Russian President
Vladimir) Putin's invasion of Ukraine," according to a statement from national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council.
Let's
consider that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others could turn the tables on
that statement in a hot second. Undoubtedly the kingdom, the UAE and
others are disappointed, or more likely, furious, with Biden's relentless attempts to sign a weak, shorter and incredibly dangerous deal with Iran.
Biden at least tempered his public comments, in sharp contrast to what some of his fellow Democrats are calling for with their incredibly alarming idea of
removing all US forces and military equipment from the kingdom and the
UAE. Doing so would result in even more instability in the Middle East
and would undoubtedly backfire on the United States.
While
it's true these monarchies should (and I believe do) appreciate all the
US does to help them, our relationship with these countries is a
two-way street. The US significantly benefits from our forces and
equipment being there. If we didn't, the personnel and equipment
wouldn't be there. Let's not pretend we put the interests of other
nations ahead of our own. Similarly, we should not make demands of other
nations to put our interests ahead of theirs.
Biden also said that "we are looking at alternatives''
to oil from OPEC+ countries. That's fair, as long as it does not
involve cutting deals with or easing sanctions on thuggish, brutal
regimes such as Iran or Venezuela. Instead, he should focus on once again increasing energy production back home.
How
many times do we need to learn the same lesson? Look no further than
Europe to see what could happen to us. It is going to be a cold and expensive European winter.
And let's stop hypocritically calling for clean energy while at the
same demanding that energy-producing countries ramp up production. This
charade doesn't help make our planet cleaner. The world is just not yet
ready to wean ourselves off fossil fuels.
It's
time for us to recognize that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others in that
region are powerful, on the move and not vassal states of the United
States. It's also time for us to recognize the world is run by reality
and practicality, hopefully working alongside of noble goals. We can
still be a great nation and make the world a better place while living
with these truths.