JEDDAH: The US needs Saudi Arabia more than ever to defeat Daesh, Al-Qaeda and other militant groups in the Middle East, according to a former US army officer and security analyst.
The anti-Saudi voices that echo around Washington and in US media have grown louder after last year’s nuclear deal with Iran, Michael Pregent wrote in an article for Foreign Policy magazine.
However, US warmth toward Tehran ignores the Kingdom’s longtime efforts to crush terror groups.
“Americans are safer today because the Kingdom has foiled numerous Al-Qaeda terrorist plots targeting the US homeland,” Pregent wrote.
“In fact, it’s Tehran that continues to sabotage US counterterrorism efforts.”
Unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran has not helped the US stop any terror plots, or stopped the Syrian regime from helping Al-Qaeda fighters into Iraq to kill US soldiers, the analyst said.
Meanwhile, Saudi has “real, tangible, counterterror accomplishments” which include forming a coalition of 39 Muslim-majority countries to combat Al-Qaeda, Daesh and the Lebanese militants, and hunting down Al-Qaeda suspects on its own soil, Pregent said.
The Kingdom is also “key” to fighting Daesh, who have not been dislodged from Iraq and Syria even after multiple bombing campaigns from Russia and a US-led coalition.
“It is a bitter pill to swallow that our country should be seeking to ‘normalize’ relations with (Iran),” he added.
The 9/11 issue has also soured sentiments, the analyst wrote.
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