ABSTRACT
As the guarantor of security in the Persian Gulf, the United States is the most important foreign ally of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Extensive common interests bind the two countries together; their shared objectives include the unity of Iraq, the deterrence of Iranian adventurism in the Persian Gulf region, peace and quiet on the Israeli-Palestinian front, the independence of Lebanon from Syria, the suppression of terrorism and the ideology of al-Qaida, and the stability of Saudi Arabia itself. Yet the Kingdom’s social and economic situation tends to undermine the willingness of Saudi leaders to cooperate with their American counterparts. The consequences of this estrangement have been particularly severe for the central pursuit of the regional policy of the administration of President George W. Bush: the reconstitution of Iraq as a uni ed, stable, and democratic state following the invasion of March 2003.
