In a recent article, “Our Radical Islamic BFF, Saudi Arabia,” Thomas L. Friedman disagreed with the nearly 200 retired US generals and admirals who had “sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to reject the Iran nuclear deal.”
While his attempt to drag Saudi Arabia into the controversy surrounding the Iran nuclear deal was not unexpected, I was surprised by the simplistic basis of Friedman’s argument. In an effort to justify his support of the Iran nuclear deal, he basically argued that Iran is bad but Saudi Arabia is even worse. The implication of his argument is that if the US can be allies with Saudi Arabia, then surely it can befriend Iran and accept the nuclear agreement.
There are two main problems with this argument. First of all, it overlooks the longstanding friendly and strategic relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia. In May 2015, US President Barack Obama had remarked, “The United States and Saudi Arabia have an extraordinary friendship and relationship that dates back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt … We are continuing to build that relationship during a very challenging time.”
President Obama also commented that cooperation between the two countries is critical “not only to maintaining stability in the region but also to protecting the American people.”
On his latest visit to the White House, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman highlighted the historical relationship between the two countries. He remarked, “Our relationship is beneficial not only to our two countries, but to the entire world and to our region … we want to work together for world peace. Our region must achieve stability, which is essential for the prosperity of its people … we want prosperity for the entire region. And we are willing to cooperate with you in order to achieve that.”
This long history of strategic cooperation between the two countries has been possible due to Saudi Arabia’s role as a regional stabilizer; it would not have been possible if Saudi Arabia were as radical as Friedman alleged.
Saudi Arabia is a strong advocate of not just regional stability, but also international peace and prosperity. The country is a founding member of the United Nations and other regional organizations. It works with international organizations to provide conflict mediation assistance and disaster relief to people in need regardless of nationality, ethnicity or religion. According to the 2015 Global Humanitarian Assistance Report, Saudi Arabia is the largest regional, and the sixth global donor, of humanitarian aid.
Friedman’s argument also ignores the history of tense relationships between Iran and the US, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East which are the direct consequence of Iran’s hostile foreign policies. Post revolution, the Iranian leadership cast Islam against the West and to declare the US to be a common enemy.
Following the 1979 seizure of the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran’s supreme leader, Ruhollah Khomeini called on the Islamic countries to join the fight, which he said "is a fight between Islam and blasphemy; between ourselves and America.” This hostile political-religious message continues to drive most of the radical revolutionary groups in the region.
Friedman began his career as a foreign correspondent in Lebanon during the 1979 upheaval and witnessed the Iranian-supported terrorism in Beirut in 1983. In what the CNN described as the “deadliest attack against US Marines since the battle over Iwo Jima,” a Hezbollah suicide bomber killed 300 American and French servicemen. Friedman singled out this incident in his op-ed and overlooked a plethora of terrorist incidents supported by Iran, such as the Khobar Tower bombing in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia, in1997, which killed one Saudi and 19 American airmen and injured 386 people of various nationalities.
According to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the attack was “inspired, supported, and directed by elements of the Iranian government.”
In order to castigate Saudi Arabia, Friedman made some sweeping remarks that ignored the diversity of religious and political systems in more than 60 sovereign countries in the Islamic world. In one such ludicrous remark, he said Saudi Arabia is connected to terrorist organizations including Daesh, Al-Qaeda and the Al-Nusra Front. The fact is that none of these terror outfits is based in Saudi Arabia. Rather it is the only country to have completely defeated and expelled Al-Qaeda.
Furthermore, Friedman failed to mention that these terrorists have attacked and threatened Saudi Arabia more than they have attacked or threatened Iran or the US.
In fact the rise of transnational terrorist organizations coupled with Iran’s nuclear activities pose a tremendous challenge to regional and global policymakers. According to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence of the US, “…It kind of boils down to, if you have a choice between having a state sponsor of terrorism who has a nuclear capability or a state sponsor of terrorism without a nuclear capability, I think I’d take the latter choice.”
Fighting transnational terrorism and preventing nuclear proliferation are essential for global security. Cooperation between the US and Saudi Arabia, a regional stabilizer, is crucial on both fronts. Along with its history of cooperation for world peace, Saudi Arabia supports the Iran nuclear agreement. According to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, “We believe this agreement will contribute to security and stability in the region by preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear capability.”
While most Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, have a long way to go to achieve lasting peace, stability and common prosperity in the region, a nuclear Iran is clearly going in the opposite direction.
