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Editorial: Moving forward with Saudi Arabia

 
Published Jan. 28, 2015

The United States and Saudi Arabia put pragmatism out front this week in the wake of the death of King Abdullah. Though the two allies are far apart on many serious issues, both have a stake in maintaining a stable relationship as a means to boost long-term security in the Middle East and Africa.

The practical underpinning of this relationship was captured this week by the bipartisan, high-level delegation President Barack Obama led to Riyadh. Current and former U.S. officials who served both Democratic and Republican administrations joined Obama in paying respects to the late king, a sign of the long continuity in relations and of the acceptance of the status quo.

The Saudis cast the spotlight forward, too, as the new king, 79-year-old Salman, appointed a line of succession that would reach into the next generation. Salman named a half-brother, Muqrin, the youngest son of the country's founder, King Abdulaziz al-Saud, as crown prince, and picked one of patriarch's grandsons as third in line to the throne. The appointments are important because the king is reportedly in ill health, and his handpicked successors would still leave the Saudi leadership firmly in conservative hands.

The United States benefits from this close relationship by getting access to intelligence in a volatile part of the world, and by having Saudi Arabia project an Arab face to the fight against Islamic State militants. The Saudis benefit by having close ties with the world's leading military power. But that relationship will only be tested further as the United States and its Western allies continue pushing toward a final deal over Iran's nuclear program, and as the Obama administration backs away from directly challenging Syria.

The United States needs to keep moving the Saudi royal family to accept the modern world and prepare for an inclusive society. Symbolic actions matter, such as when first lady Michelle Obama did not cover her hair to meet the new king, calling attention to the second-class status of women in the kingdom.

The Saudis need to face the future. The near-overnight collapse in oil prices may not create a crisis for a nation with $750 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but it's a reminder that economies evolve, and a warning sign for Saudi Arabia if it fails to diversify the nation's output and expand the job base. The United States took the pragmatic approach in leaving larger issues for later, but the king's death exposes how unsustainable the single-minded focus on continuity is for the long term.