Liar-in-Chief inflated arms deals between US and Saudi Arabia by a factor of 30; $14 billion becomes $400 billion
Nov 21, 2018 16:02:34 #
• Foreign policy and national security experts feel Trump has greatly embellished the extent to which the US needs Saudi Arabia as a partner.
• At the end of the day, Saudi Arabia now needs the US more than it needs the kingdom, but Trump's policy in the region does not reflect this reality whatsoever.
Trump is wrong, Saudi Arabia needs the US a lot more than the US needs the kingdom
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-wrong-saudi-arabia-needs-us-more-than-us-needs-the-kingdom-2018-11
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled to the world he feels the US-Saudi relationship is so utterly indispensable that he's willing to give Riyadh a pass on the brutal k*****g of Jamal Khashoggi.
The foreign policy community in the US was floored by the statement Trump released to this effect, characterizing it as antithetical to America's values and interests. Foreign policy and national security experts also feel Trump has greatly embellished the extent to which the US needs Saudi Arabia as a partner.
"The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone," Trump said in the controversial statement. "In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region."
The president in his statement also touted the purported economic benefits of the US partnership with Saudi Arabia, making inaccurate claims about US arms sales while emphasizing low oil prices.
'We are being played'
Aaron David Miller, who helped shape US policy in the Middle East for decades while serving as an adviser to six secretaries of state, told INSIDER that Trump's statement was "astonishing."
"I worked for Republicans and Democrats through five administrations, and there has never been such a statement," Miller said, accusing Trump of "draining" US foreign policy of "any moral or ethical principles."
If put in the same position as Trump, Miller does not believe any of the administrations he advised would have done anything that "would fundamentally undermine the relationship" between Washington and Riyadh, but they would have at least signaled to the Saudis they "cannot have carte blanche to trample all over American interests and have us continue to support them."
Miller, who's now the vice president and Middle East program director at the Wilson Center, said Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed have succeeded in "bamboozling" the president. "We are being played," he said.
Saudi Arabia is an "important security partner," Miller said, but not a true American ally as Trump said given it doesn't share US values.
With that said, the strategic partnership between the US and Saudis that dates back to the 1940s has begun to crumble in recent years.
For decades, the US has provided security, while the Saudis have provided oil. But the US no longer needs Saudi oil, Miller said, as the shale revolution has made it virtually energy independent.
Indeed, it's the US, not Saudi Arabia, that is now the world's largest crude-oil producer.
'Saudi Arabia needs us a lot more than we need them'
At the end of the day, Saudi Arabia now needs the US "a lot more than we need them," Gen. Wesley Clark, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, told CNN on Tuesday in response to the president's statement.
Clark said that the Saudis "need" US protection but the US no longer needs their oil, adding that though it might be "inconvenient" in the short-run for the US government to take actions that hurt the royal family there's also important strategic value in upholding American ideals.
"If we're going to have America in the world that we want to see, we have to stand up for our values, and we have to put those values up front," Clark said. "We need to help the Saudis come in our direction. And calling it like it is on this would help them."
—New Day (@NewDay) November 21, 2018
'We've allowed the US-Saudi relationship to get out of control'
Miller said Trump's obstinate support for Saudi Arabia is linked to his desire to be fundamentally anti-Obama.
The president felt his predecessor undermined two historically key partnerships with his policy toward Saudi Arabia and Israel and has been "determined to show that these are our core partners in the region and we are going to build policy around them," Miller said.
"I've had meetings with Jared Kushner and they are clearly relying on the Saudis for their regional strategy," he added.
It's no coincidence that Trump's first trip abroad involved visits to Riyadh and Jerusalem. In the past, presidents often traveled closer to home, visiting neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico, on their initial foreign trips.
Miller said what's required moving forward is more balance in terms of US policy in the Middle East, contending the Trump administration needs to take advantage of the leverage it has over the Saudis in the region. This would involve cooperating with Iran when it serves US interests, but standing against it when it doesn't.
"We've allowed the US-Saudi relationship to get out of control... and Khashoggi's murder is just the most extreme manifestation of a relationship that's out of control," Miller said.
• At the end of the day, Saudi Arabia now needs the US more than it needs the kingdom, but Trump's policy in the region does not reflect this reality whatsoever.
Trump is wrong, Saudi Arabia needs the US a lot more than the US needs the kingdom
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-wrong-saudi-arabia-needs-us-more-than-us-needs-the-kingdom-2018-11
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signaled to the world he feels the US-Saudi relationship is so utterly indispensable that he's willing to give Riyadh a pass on the brutal k*****g of Jamal Khashoggi.
The foreign policy community in the US was floored by the statement Trump released to this effect, characterizing it as antithetical to America's values and interests. Foreign policy and national security experts also feel Trump has greatly embellished the extent to which the US needs Saudi Arabia as a partner.
"The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone," Trump said in the controversial statement. "In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region."
The president in his statement also touted the purported economic benefits of the US partnership with Saudi Arabia, making inaccurate claims about US arms sales while emphasizing low oil prices.
'We are being played'
Aaron David Miller, who helped shape US policy in the Middle East for decades while serving as an adviser to six secretaries of state, told INSIDER that Trump's statement was "astonishing."
"I worked for Republicans and Democrats through five administrations, and there has never been such a statement," Miller said, accusing Trump of "draining" US foreign policy of "any moral or ethical principles."
If put in the same position as Trump, Miller does not believe any of the administrations he advised would have done anything that "would fundamentally undermine the relationship" between Washington and Riyadh, but they would have at least signaled to the Saudis they "cannot have carte blanche to trample all over American interests and have us continue to support them."
Miller, who's now the vice president and Middle East program director at the Wilson Center, said Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed have succeeded in "bamboozling" the president. "We are being played," he said.
Saudi Arabia is an "important security partner," Miller said, but not a true American ally as Trump said given it doesn't share US values.
With that said, the strategic partnership between the US and Saudis that dates back to the 1940s has begun to crumble in recent years.
For decades, the US has provided security, while the Saudis have provided oil. But the US no longer needs Saudi oil, Miller said, as the shale revolution has made it virtually energy independent.
Indeed, it's the US, not Saudi Arabia, that is now the world's largest crude-oil producer.
'Saudi Arabia needs us a lot more than we need them'
At the end of the day, Saudi Arabia now needs the US "a lot more than we need them," Gen. Wesley Clark, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, told CNN on Tuesday in response to the president's statement.
Clark said that the Saudis "need" US protection but the US no longer needs their oil, adding that though it might be "inconvenient" in the short-run for the US government to take actions that hurt the royal family there's also important strategic value in upholding American ideals.
"If we're going to have America in the world that we want to see, we have to stand up for our values, and we have to put those values up front," Clark said. "We need to help the Saudis come in our direction. And calling it like it is on this would help them."
—New Day (@NewDay) November 21, 2018
'We've allowed the US-Saudi relationship to get out of control'
Miller said Trump's obstinate support for Saudi Arabia is linked to his desire to be fundamentally anti-Obama.
The president felt his predecessor undermined two historically key partnerships with his policy toward Saudi Arabia and Israel and has been "determined to show that these are our core partners in the region and we are going to build policy around them," Miller said.
"I've had meetings with Jared Kushner and they are clearly relying on the Saudis for their regional strategy," he added.
It's no coincidence that Trump's first trip abroad involved visits to Riyadh and Jerusalem. In the past, presidents often traveled closer to home, visiting neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico, on their initial foreign trips.
Miller said what's required moving forward is more balance in terms of US policy in the Middle East, contending the Trump administration needs to take advantage of the leverage it has over the Saudis in the region. This would involve cooperating with Iran when it serves US interests, but standing against it when it doesn't.
"We've allowed the US-Saudi relationship to get out of control... and Khashoggi's murder is just the most extreme manifestation of a relationship that's out of control," Miller said.
Nov 21, 2018 16:41:27 #
Nov 21, 2018 16:54:00 #
EyeSawYou wrote:
When you say "Liar-n-Chief", you are referring to yourself right? Pot and kettle.
"No life I take it. I live in your heard 24/7/365 days a year rent free. lol"
Nov 21, 2018 16:57:45 #
EyeSawYou wrote:
When you say "Liar-n-Chief", you are referring to yourself right? Pot and kettle.
Big Lairy actually, you know ... "No one is more ethical than me!" Big Lairy
Nov 21, 2018 17:03:04 #
Keenan wrote:
"No life I take it. I live in your heard 24/7/365 days a year rent free. lol"
I live in your heard???? lol
Nov 21, 2018 17:16:27 #
EyeSawYou wrote:
I live in your heard???? lol
Quoting from your own words...
"...live in your heard [sic] 24/7/365 days a year"
- RacEyeSore, 11/21/18
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