The Saudi Exception

Why It Matters

Council on Foreign Relations

News

4.2 • 876 Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2022

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The U.S.-Saudi relationship is fraught with complications. Saudi Arabia has the largest oil reserves in the world, giving it influence over what Americans pay at the gas pump. At the same time, the kingdom’s human rights abuses are at odds with the United States’ stated democratic values. Who holds the power in this partnership? And what compromises are being made so the countries can work together? Featured Guests: Lina Alhathloul (Head of Monitoring and Communications, ALQST for Human Rights) Madawi Al-Rasheed (Visiting Professor, Middle East Center, London School of Economics) Steven A. Cook (Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies) For an episode transcript and show notes, visit us at: https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/saudi-exception

Transcript

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0:00.0	They say you can't pick your family or your coworkers. The same goes for global relations.
0:09.4	To quote a tweet once posted by my boss Richard Haas, you have to deal with the leaders that exist, not the ones you prefer.
0:16.0	The United States likes to think of itself as upholding values, including those of democracy, freedom, and human rights. But maintaining
0:25.7	global partnerships often means dealing with those you may not choose to call
0:29.8	your allies. Administrations often have to balance values with interests, which can involve troubling
0:35.7	compromises.
0:36.7	Such is the case in our relationship with Saudi Arabia.
0:41.0	For starters, they have a lot of oil, which helps them to dominate the global market
0:45.3	and control what we pay at the pump.
0:48.3	And it gets more complicated.
0:50.1	I'm Gabriel Sierra, and this is why it matters.
0:53.2	Today, the US-Saudy relationship.
0:56.0	What is it built on?
0:57.2	What does it look like?
0:58.4	And what is happening within the country that makes this partnership controversial.
1:09.0	What is Saudi Arabia's role in the world of energy? I think the word that first comes to mind when someone says Saudi Arabia is oil.
1:14.0	And that's because Saudi Arabia is among, if not the most important, oil producer in the world.
1:22.0	This is Stephen Cook.
1:24.0	He's a senior fellow from Middle East and Africa studies
1:27.0	here at the Council on Foreign Relations.
1:30.0	It can produce a lot of oil at a relatively low cost and it can do that relatively low cost and it can do that relatively quickly.
1:36.0	How much of our energy supply in the US comes from Saudi oil?
	...

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