October 24, 2018
Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder Hurt American Interests, Not Just American Values
Most observers have seen the murder of Jamal Khashoggi as the latest example of an age-old tension in U.S. foreign policy: the pursuit of national interests versus the defense of American values. Our leaders, this reading goes, abhor the brutal killing of a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, but security and economic considerations must temper their reactions. The government of Mohammad bin Salman is, after all, a friendly autocracy whose dollars buy our weapons and whose oil exports supply global markets. The United States needs Saudi help in opposing Iran, its support for a Middle East peace deal, its intelligence and operations to fight terrorism, and its commitment to ensure regional stability. Better, then, to signal displeasure at this latest horror but leave the broader relationship relatively undamaged—or even unchanged.
A balance between interests and values is implicit in statements by President Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo about the strategic partnership between Washington and Riyadh. Calling Saudi Arabia a “very strong ally,” the White House advisor Jared Kushner explained that “we have to be able to pursue our strategic objectives,” while “deal[ing] with what is obviously a terrible situation.” Others, like foreign policy scholar Walter Russell Mead, have urged Washington not to “ditch Riyadh in a fit of righteousness.”
But this frame represents a misreading of both the incident and the last several years of Saudi foreign policy. It’s also likely to encourage the wrong policy response. The hard reality is that the Khashoggi murder is one in a series of recent Saudi actions that have set back U.S. objectives in the Middle East—and Saudi ones as well. Continued partnership with Riyadh is possible and even desirable, but only if Saudi Arabia changes its approach.
Read the full article in The Atlantic.
More from CNAS
-
Daniel Silverberg on Amanpour & Company
Video
National security expert and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security Daniel Silverberg joined Prof. Mehran Kamrava on Amanpour & Company to discuss Sec...
By Daniel Silverberg
-
Podcast
Indo-Pacific Security / Middle East Security
The Global Power Shift No One Is Talking About – And Who’s Driving ItMost people see the world as the U.S. vs. China. But the real power shift is happening elsewhere. Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security and a former ...
By Richard Fontaine
-
Podcast
Indo-Pacific Security / Middle East Security
Why Trump’s Efforts to Force Iran to Concede to U.S. Demands Aren’t Working"So far, there has been no combination of carrots and sticks that has brought Iran to the terms that the Americans want. And if the idea is that, at some point soon, Iran will...
By Richard Fontaine
-
With War on Its Doorstep, Iraq Taps a Political Outsider to Become Prime Minister
Podcast
After a long political impasse, Ali al-Zaidi has been tapped to become Iraq’s new prime minister. A wealthy oligarch, al-Zaidi is seen as both a compromise candidate, but also...
By Hamzeh Hadad
