ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with Saudi oil policy during King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz's reign from 1964 to 1975. It focuses on the role that Saudi Arabia played in the 'Oil War' which followed the Ramadan War of 1973. Apart from Faisal's fundamental anti-Zionist foreign policy which ran deep in his religious loyalty, another policy that was just as important was his staunch resistance to Communism. Faisal believed in the essential truth of Islam under all forms and regarded the intrusion of Soviet ideas or ideology into the Islamic countries as disastrous. The overwhelming US support for Israel created a rift in Arab-American relations and was the major cause in King Faisal's decision to politicise Saudi oil during the Ramadan War. Well aware of the 'special' American-Israeli relations, King Faisal worked to achieve on important aim — to 'neutralise' the United States' position toward the Arab-Israeli issue.
