Saudi Crown Prince’s Visit Restored an Important Relationship: Security Analyst

President Trump announced that the US will designate Saudi Arabia a major non US ally. Joining us to discuss is David Wormser, senior analyst at the Center for Security Policy and former senior adviser to Vice President Cheney on the Middle East and Strategic Affairs. So David, good afternoon to you. Um, this designation, you know, comes uh with a number of benefits for Saudi Arabia, like for example, easier access to US military equipment. I mean, does this signal that Saudi Arabia is now among Washington's closest partners? >> Well, yes. It definitely draws uh Saudi Arabia a lot closer after a decade or more of some tense relationships between the United States and Saudi Arabia. But it actually returns Saudi Arabia to a role it's had for most of the last which is to be one of the most important American allies in the region. So this really restores a sort of relationship rather than paves a whole new way. >> So President Trump said today that uh the US Saudi Arabia partnership is one of the most consequential in the world and you're saying that um this restores the relationship. Why does the Trump administration consider it so critical? >> Well, I mean, uh, first of all, just the oil. There's there's a lot of oil in Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia also holds tremendous influence over several other countries in the region such as Bahrain and so forth. These countries have major strategic assets like a naval base in Bahrain. Uh, Sentcom is in uh, Qatar. uh but we have major assets otherwise in Saudi Arabia and of course there's a lot of oil natural gas in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. So there's a lot of uh strategic importance to that but there's a further strategic importance which is new which is this new corridor emerging between India the UAE Saudi Arabia Israel and Greece and that that is an important trade corridor but really it's a strategic alliance emerging that creates a southern belt to stop the Chinese belt and road which is pushing in from the north and is anchored more to Qatar, Iran, [clears throat] parts of Afghanistan, Turkey. Uh so it it has a major strategic play. It also is a major question over the Palestinians and who really governs the essence of the Palestinian question. And the Israelis trust the Saudis a lot more, Saudis and the UAE a lot more than they trust Qatar and Turkey. And as a result, the more Saudi Arabia emerges as the voice of the Palestinian question, the more actually the Israelis are comfortable with with uh proceeding forward on that issue. >> So David, you brought up, pardon me, David, you brought up uh China's Belt and Road uh initiative. You also brought up Iran. So Russia as well also playing significant roles in the Middle East region. um all of which have complicated relationship uh with the US as well. So my question here is how aligned are Saudi Arabia's goals with the US interests in this region? >> I think they're they're quite closely aligned. They're not entirely identical, but they're quite closely aligned more so than sometimes Washington appreciates. Uh because the Saudis always hedge a little bit. They are very cautious by nature and as a result sometimes they hedge a little bit with China and otherwise and that gives the impression that there's light of day but Saudi Arabia would love nothing more than a robust United States a very committed United States and a very confident United States because it has always thrived the most when that happens. So in many ways Saudi Arabia's relationship with the United States does reflect a strong parallel of interests. The fact that the Saudis and the Israelis are drawing closer strategically, not necessarily peace yet, but strategically that it reinforces the American presence in the region without a huge American commitment. So David, there there's one thing that I have to ask you because a reporter yesterday during the meeting between Muhammad bin Salman and President Trump asked about 911 and the crown prince said that uh the 9/11 plot was used by bin Laden to drive a wedge in US Saudi relations. Would you just be able to comment on that? How has 9/11 shifted US foreign policy on the Middle East or changed the relationship with Saudi Arabia? >> Well, it's interesting. I mean, I I think the Saudi role in 9/11 has never been fully appreciated. I think it was uh the Saudis had a policy before 911 of trying to export some of their internal problems. They funded some of these organizations abroad that led to 9/11. And but but as soon as that happened, the Saudis understood it and they cooperated with us in the war on terror. This is already 26 24 years ago. So they've been a fairly good ally in those in those issues on Islam, Islamism, the radical jihadis and so forth. Uh moreover, their nemesis in the region, Qatar has gone the other direction. Qatar has become the main funer now of the Muslim Brotherhood and the various terror world that emerges from that. Uh so in many ways the Saudis despite the fact that they really were not careful and they were complicit in 911 not wittingly but unwittingly by having funded some of these organizations that went bad really bad. Uh they actually are playing the productive role in this and the Qataris are the ones we should be worrying about now. Okay, David, just one last thing that I'm wondering today. Uh I'm curious to get your comments on because President Trump brought up the Board of Peace. How well is that going to work to oversee an interim government in Gaza? Trump says uh heads of major countries will be on it. >> It will work well only when it doesn't work at the beginning. And by that I mean I think it's fairly clear by now that Kamas has no intention of disarming and that there's no international coalition of forces that will disarm Hamas. And that's an that's a that's a a bottleneck. It it has to be disarmed. So in the end, the only thing that can really bring about the disarmament of Hamas is Israel finishing the war, which I believe is coming. that they will have to go into the remainder of Gaza and physically dismantle Hamas and comb the area and and and then the uh Board of Peace can come in and help really begin to reestablish and rebuild Gaza. And I think the Saudis and others, that's what the critical issue is. They know nobody will go in as long as Hamas continues to exist. uh it's just too dangerous and it will it will always lead to a a loss of investment. So it's really a precondition that we have a problem first which is that the Israelis will be forced essentially to go in violently to disarm Hamas and then we really have a board of peace and a structure where people will send their troops to keep the peace and begin to develop Gaza. >> Well, okay, David, that should do it for today. Really appreciate you always talking to us. Thank you. >> Sure. No problem.