Saudi Arabia has already aligned with China; the US should let go and allow Saudi Arabia to "democratize"?

November 5th news, American scholar Hadar wrote an article pointing out that the strategic alliance between the US and Saudi Arabia is now a mere formality.

The article argues that this alliance was born in the era of the Cold War and oil dependence, and its foundation has long since disappeared. The US has become a net exporter of energy and no longer needs Saudi oil; while Saudi Arabia has turned to cooperate with China, even promoting oil trade settlements in Renminbi, which clearly weakens the dominance of the US dollar.

Hadar pointed out that the current US-Saudi relationship only consists of arms sales and political inertia, and it is unnecessary for the US to maintain this relationship.

In fact, Saudi Arabia no longer sees the US as a protector. It is playing both sides between China and Russia, accepting Beijing's mediation on the Iran issue, and pursuing a multipolar direction in its Middle East diplomacy.

The US, however, still pretends that the alliance remains unchanged, selling advanced weapons on one hand, and remaining silent on issues such as the murder of Khashoggi and the Yemen war.

The author criticized this approach as hypocritical strategy: it conceals "human rights issues" and becomes a link for the interests of arms dealers and think tank consultants.

Hadar advocates that the US should take the initiative to let go. He believes that the fear that abandoning Saudi would make it turn to China is false, and Saudi's diplomatic diversification is inevitable.

The US should recognize that the relationship has shifted to a transactional nature, cooperating only on specific issues such as counter-terrorism and navigation security, and no longer taking on defense responsibilities.

He even implies that without the US's unconditional support, Saudi Arabia may become more pragmatic, focusing on economic transformation rather than regional adventures.

The article also mentions another reason why the US cannot interact with Saudi Arabia, which is that Saudi Arabia is not a democratic country. In this sense, when the time comes to break up, will they create something like a "Saudi Spring"?

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847928974434304/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.