Saudi Arabia Research Paper

For decades the United States has relied on Saudi Arabia mainly as a source of cheap oil. The relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia has also brought about many lucrative business deals. The relationship between these two countries has always been extremely important due to the fact the United States is heavily dependent on Saudi oil. Saudi Arabia oil production is a key player in the world’s economy and could put many countries at great risk if they were to lose access to trade of oil. For many years the United States has thought about reducing its consumption of Saudi oil, but has yet to do so in fear of losing the ability to maintain the American lifestyle. Within the years after World War II the United States along with the rest …show more content…
The United States considers Saudi Arabia vital for their production of oil, as Robert Baer author of Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude, states that for the United States, “losing Saudi Arabia would be like losing the Federal Reserve.” Even if Saudi Arabia turns anti-American Saudi rulers would never stop exporting oil to the United States because that means they would lose their biggest customers and a large amount of money. The United States may try and distance itself from Saudi Arabian oil, due to the possible effects the country could suffer because an attack on the Saudi Arabian oil system, but the U.S. will always be heavily dependent on the oil produced by Saudi Arabia. The United …show more content…
Many citizens of Riyadh and Jidda believe that the money made from producing oil has corrupted the ruling family. Some members of the royal family were worried that Abdul Aziz was participating in the funding of Wahhabi extremist causes, which was helping him gain strength and popularity. Abdul Aziz was willing to work with the Wahhabis because he was going to need their support if he was going to become king. Abdul Aziz supported the radical Wahhabi even though they sought the ultimate destruction of the West, including Saudi Arabia’s ally the United States. Overlooking Abdul Aziz’s support of a possible enemy of the U.S., many Washington figures have been involved with companies that made deals with Saudi Arabia. Spending large sums of money was an important part of the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia. A number of companies, such as the Carlyle Group and Halliburton, have been conducting business with Saudi Arabia for years. Even the Secretary of Treasury under President Bush serves of the board of Amerada Hess, which works with some of Saudi Arabia’s royal family members to exploit Azerbaijan for its oil resources. To make sure the workings of the system are not upset, Saudi Arabia keeps around a trillion dollars on deposit in U.S. banks; an agreement that was put