Such a move would be disastrous for American interests, entrapping Washington as Riyadh’s security guarantor despite a fundamental disconnect between U.S. and Saudi interests and values. This agreement would risk American lives to defend a repressive dictatorship and provide a framework for other regional dictators to pressure the United States into similar concessions. The Biden administration appears to be pursuing this agreement unilaterally, leaving both Congress and the American people in the dark.
The United States already has a deep — but strategically and morally objectionable — security relationship with Saudi Arabia. Today, U.S. and Saudi interests do not align; Riyadh represents a strategic liability, not a strategic partner. Indeed, Saudi Arabia actively undermines both U.S. interests and values. No number of concessions to Riyadh will change this. Instead, unwavering U.S. support emboldens Saudi Arabia’s repressive and aggressive behavior by offering the assurance that the United States will come to their aid and not hold them responsible.
Despite these disconnects, U.S. policy has yet to adjust course.
Advancing the series of normalization agreements between Israel and various Arab states — popularly referred to as the “Abraham Accords” — has rapidly emerged as a new framework for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and a new rationale for doubling-down on the U.S.-Saudi relationship.
The Biden administration — which has prioritized brokering Saudi-Israel normalization as a cornerstone of its Middle East policy — has argued the United States has a “national security interest” in brokering formal diplomatic relations between them. A flurry of reports this year have indicated that the Biden administration is pushing for Israel-Saudi normalization by the end of 2023. Biden centered his dual visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia in 2022 on this issue. In return for normalization with Israel, Saudi Arabia is pressing the Biden administration for more formalized security commitments, as well as help with developing their civilian nuclear program.
The Biden administration is wrong to consider such a tradeoff. There is no strategic incentive for the United States to grant policy concessions and/or increase security commitments to Saudi Arabia for formally normalizing relations with Israel.