The Pentagon Loves Saudi Arabia, in Sickness and in Health

[TomSea]

The Pentagon Loves Saudi Arabia, in Sickness and in Health
America’s unbreakable relationship with Riyadh is fueled less by the White House than the military.
BY MICAH ZENKO | OCTOBER 24, 2018

The shocking allegations of Jamal Khashoggi’s killing and dismemberment in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul have led to a rare open debate among politicians, pundits, and business leaders about the strategic wisdom of U.S.-Saudi relations. When the debate subsides, however, it’s unlikely to have transformed America’s long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf kingdom’s regional allies, in any substantial way.

The reason is simple: geography—more specifically, the U.S. military’s peculiar relationship to it. For decades, the United States has professed several vital (and lesser) national interests in the Middle East. These interests include assuring the free flow of oil and natural gas, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, preventing the emergence of ungoverned areas that terrorist organizations can utilize, containing Iran, and enhancing the capacity of regional militaries to defend their own territory.

American political and military officials have consistently contended that the military should have the predominant role in achieving these interests. And, to ensure that military forces and assets can operate with sufficient latitude in the region to achieve said interests, those forces need reliable and predictable access to the airfields, ports, facilities, and airspace located on the sovereign territory of Persian Gulf countries. Cyber-capabilities or smaller, less-lethal units operating from naval assets in international waters are not an adequate or reliable substitute. Across Democratic and Republican administrations, direct and stable military access to the Middle East has been a far higher foreign-policy priority than any competing moral or ethical consideration in the region.

Read more at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/10/24/the-pentagon-loves-saudi-arabia-in-sickness-and-in-health/