# The U.S.–Saudi relationship

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The U.S.–Saudi relationship," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/us-saudi-relationship/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's account of the American alliance with Saudi Arabia as a straightforward trade — basing rights and oil in exchange for weapons sales and protection — and of the price the United States pays for it, which he describes as a demonstrated willingness to walk away from its own commitments to international law and human rights in order to protect the regime.*

- **His characterisation:** The keystone of American foreign policy in the Middle East
- **What the U.S. gets:** Oil, and air and naval bases in a time of war
- **What Saudi Arabia gets:** American military hardware, and protection of the regime
- **Duration he gives:** Well more than half a century
- **The cost:** Walking away from commitments to international law and human rights

**The U.S.–Saudi relationship** is described by [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) as the keystone of American foreign policy in the Middle East — a judgement he offers *"for better or for worse"* rather than as praise.[1]

## What each side gets

The American interest he names first is basing. It is always useful to have friends in the region, he says, especially when you find yourself in a time of war and suddenly need air bases or naval bases.[1]

Beyond that he describes the arrangement as unusually uncomplicated: *"we buy their oil and they buy our military hardware. It's really that simple."* Outside that exchange, he says, the two governments generally agree on very little in terms of policy.[2]

## What it commits the United States to

Against the basing rights he sets the character of the client. The United States has committed itself for well more than half a century to defending what he calls an extreme right-wing government with no respect for human rights, no respect for women's rights, and no respect for religious freedoms.[2]

The commitment, in his account, is to the regime's survival rather than to any shared position — and it is honoured at the expense of the stated principles of American policy: *"we have proven time and again that we will walk away from our own commitments to international law and to human rights in order to defend and protect that regime."*[3]

## See also

- [The Saudi fear of an election](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-democracy-fear)
- [Saudi aid priorities](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-aid-priorities)
- [Saudi Arabia And Radicalism](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-arabia-and-radicalism)
- [Saudi princes and 9/11](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-princes-and-9-11)
- [Composition of the Saudi military](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/saudi-military-composition)

## Sources

1. Former CIA Agent John Kiriakou Takes Us Inside The Saudi Ter (2015-09-23), at 02:41. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqN6mNL-dfI&t=161s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2015-09-23-mintpress-news-former-cia-agent-john-kiriakou-takes-us-insid/
2. Former CIA Agent John Kiriakou Takes Us Inside The Saudi Ter (2015-09-23), at 03:13. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqN6mNL-dfI&t=193s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2015-09-23-mintpress-news-former-cia-agent-john-kiriakou-takes-us-insid/
3. Former CIA Agent John Kiriakou Takes Us Inside The Saudi Ter (2015-09-23), at 03:45. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqN6mNL-dfI&t=225s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2015-09-23-mintpress-news-former-cia-agent-john-kiriakou-takes-us-insid/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/us-saudi-relationship/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt