President-elect Joe Biden’s rhetoric on Saudi Arabia over the years has been far tougher than the monarchy is used to. But words alone won’t make much of a difference. Mr. Biden’s policy toward Riyadh should adopt a more cleared-headed look at what the kingdom is, and, crucially, what it is not.
Saudi Arabia is not entitled to U.S. military or diplomatic support. It’s not a treaty ally like Japan. Its importance to U.S. security has dwindled as the United States seeks to reorient its foreign policy away from the Middle East. And if Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s tutelage is any indication, the kingdom is proving to be a wildly destabilizing force in the region.
Mr. Biden should base the U.S.-Saudi relationship on first-order principles: cooperate when possible and deviate when U.S. and Saudi interests don’t match up. For Washington, that means understanding when Saudi requests for help are counterproductive; removing itself from a war in Yemen that serves no purpose for the U.S.; and all the while continuing a pragmatic intelligence sharing on terrorism.
Ultimately, Saudi Arabia needs the United States more than the United States needs Saudi Arabia.
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