By Ron Paul
For decades the US and Saudi Arabia have shared a peculiar
relationship: the Saudis sell relatively cheap oil to the United States
for which they accept our fiat currency. They then recycle those paper
dollars into the US military-industrial complex through the purchase of
billions of dollars worth of military equipment, and the US guarantees
the security of the Saudi monarchy.
By accepting only dollars for the sale of its oil, the Saudis help
the dollar remain the world’s reserve currency. This has meant that we
can export inflation, finance the warfare/welfare state, and delay our
day of financial reckoning.
But it seems this longstanding entangling alliance is coming apart.
First, the US nuclear deal with Iran has infuriated the Saudis. They
view Iran as bitter rivals and spared no expense in Washington to derail
the deal. They were not successful – at least not yet. They have also
been frustrated that the US has not devoted more of its resources to the
Saudi “regime change” project in Syria, seen as a way to reduce Iranian
influence in the Middle East.
But it is the potential release of the secret 28 pages of the 9/11
Report that purportedly show Saudi government involvement in the attacks
on New York and Washington that threatens to really blow up US/Saudi
relations. The relatives of the victims are demanding the right to hold
the Saudi government legally accountable if it is shown to have had a
role in the attacks, and the Senate’s “Justice Against Sponsors of
Terrorism Act” would lift Saudi sovereign immunity and allow lawsuits to
go forward. The Saudis threaten to dump three-quarters of a trillion
dollars in US assets if the bill becomes law – a move that could rock
world markets and even the shaky Saudi economy.
President Obama’s disastrous visit to the Saudi capital last week may
have been seen as the last straw. Billed in Washington as a trip to
shore up relations, President Obama got the cold shoulder as the Saudi
monarch sent a low-level functionary to meet the US president’s plane
while he met an incoming delegation from the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The message was pretty clear.
The Obama PR team tried to put a positive spin on the visit, saying
it “really cleared the air” between the two countries. But influential
former Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Turki Al-Faisal disagreed,
telling CNN that there is going to have to be “a recalibration of our
relationship with America.”
I happen to agree with Prince Faisal. We are long overdue for a
recalibration of our relationship. While I do not believe we have any
business telling the Saudis how to run their country, the decades-long
special arrangement must come to an end. No more US-taxpayer subsidized
arms deals to a Saudi Arabia that slaughters civilians in Yemen,
transfers weapons to ISIS and other Islamist extremists in Syria and
elsewhere, beheads its own citizens for minor offenses, finances
terrorism overseas, and threatens other countries in the region. It
should be known that no longer will the US guarantee the security of the
Saudi kingdom.
If the Saudis refuse to sell us their oil in protest, there are other
producers who would be happy to step in. The Iranians have long been
prevented from selling their oil on the world market. If the Saudi
government was involved in the 9/11 attacks, it should enjoy no immunity
from justice. If that means reciprocal moves from other countries
against the harm US foreign policy causes overseas, so be it.
Yes, Prince Faisal. By all means let’s “recalibrate” our relationship. No more entangling alliances with Saudi Arabia!
Ron Paul writes for his site RonPaulInstitute.org where this article first appeared. Get his latest book Swords Into Plowshares.
“La sabiduría de la vida consiste en la eliminación de lo no esencial. En reducir los problemas de la filosofía a unos pocos solamente: el goce del hogar, de la vida, de la naturaleza, de la cultura”. Lin Yutang
Cervantes
Hoy es el día más hermoso de nuestra vida, querido Sancho; los obstáculos más grandes, nuestras propias indecisiones; nuestro enemigo más fuerte, el miedo al poderoso y a nosotros mismos; la cosa más fácil, equivocarnos; la más destructiva, la mentira y el egoísmo; la peor derrota, el desaliento; los defectos más peligrosos, la soberbia y el rencor; las sensaciones más gratas, la buena conciencia, el esfuerzo para ser mejores sin ser perfectos, y sobretodo, la disposición para hacer el bien y combatir la injusticia dondequiera que esté.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
Don Quijote de la Mancha.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
Don Quijote de la Mancha.