Defense Secretary James Mattis’ framing came closer to the mark: “We’re not going to apologize for our human rights stance. Nor are we going to apologize for working with Saudi Arabia when it’s necessary for the good of innocent people who are in trouble. Presidents don’t often get the freedom to work with unblemished partners.”
Indeed, an American businessman in the region explains the U.S. dilemma through game theory. Imagine a trilateral major power contest – involving China, Russia and the United States – where one of the players is operating according to a clear set of prescribed rules while the other two parties lack such constraints.
“Over time, what is the effect on outcomes?” he asks. “You can follow your principles right off the edge.”
According to this argument, it would be better to leverage the current situation to achieve larger U.S. aims in the region – consistent with values and interests – rather than to respond in a manner that might be satisfying over the short term but self-defeating strategically.
The biggest prize remains a shift from previous Saudi policies that ultimately resulted in some 3,000 deaths on 9-11 and the creation of al-Qaeda, ISIS and the financing of mosques and schools that have advanced a more austere and extreme form of Islam across the globe. As long as Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the religion’s two holiest mosques, its religious direction will be decisive.
It is possible the opaque Saudi system of governance will bring about a leadership transition at the top. Still, Middle East officials I consulted this week consider it far more likely that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman survives for the time being and, at age 33, even serves for another few decades. If that’s so, U.S. leaders must respond accordingly.
American policy performs best when focused on a longer-term strategic purpose. In the Middle East, the approach must be on preventing any new conflicts, ending the region’s three civil wars – in Yemen, Libya and Syria – and unlocking the region’s human potential while opposing extremism.
The good news this past week is that, under international pressure, coalition partners Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have largely ceased offensive operations in Yemen. That has provided hope for an end to the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe. UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths spent the latter part of the week in the country laying the ground for peace talks in Sweden.
Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman can’t undo the Khashoggi crime. Yet he could refocus Western thinking over time by redoubling his efforts to reform Saudi society, not only providing women more rights but also by releasing from prison the activists he recently arrested.
Western and Middle Eastern leaders need to avoid worst outcomes in the region. Even better would be to leverage the crisis to achieve some good.
Frederick Kempe is a best-selling author, prize-winning journalist and president & CEO of the Atlantic Council, one of the United States’ most influential think tanks on global affairs. He worked at The Wall Street Journal for more than 25 years as a foreign correspondent, assistant managing editor and as the longest-serving editor of the paper’s European edition. His latest book – “Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth” – was a New York Times best-seller and has been published in more than a dozen languages. Follow him on Twitter
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