Saudis See Oldest Ally on Wrong Track as U.S. Delays Syria Raids
By Glen Carey - Oct 2, 2013
Saudi Arabia, one of the oldest U.S. allies in the Middle East, is increasingly uncomfortable with the policies President Barack Obama is pursuing there.
At functions in Riyadh and on the local editorial pages, it’s becoming common to hear criticism of the U.S. The decision to back away from strikes against Syria was widely condemned by Saudis, who have backed the rebels fighting to oust Bashar al-Assad’s government and pushed for military action in their support.
Signs of a U.S. thaw with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival, have heightened the concern in the world’s biggest oil exporter. One result may be that the Saudis, who have worked with the U.S. to build up the Syrian political opposition, may start acting independently of their ally, said Mustafa Alani, an analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Geneva.
Saudi leaders from now on will “look at their own interests and act accordingly, whether the U.S. likes it or not,” Alani said. “The Saudis have more or less respected the U.S. veto for the past two years for supplying arms to the Syrian rebels. I don’t think this will happen any more.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-02/saudis-see-oldest-ally-on-wrong-track-as-u-s-delays-syria-raids.html
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