Op-Ed: Veto of Palestine Vote at U.N. May Jeopardize U.S.-Saudi Ties

In a New York Times op-ed, Prince Turki al-Faisal warns that if the United States vetoes Palestine’s bid for statehood in the United Nations later this month,  ”the little credibility [the U.S.] has in the Arab world” will likely be lost and the “special relationship” between the United States and Saudi Arabia will be in jeopardy.

Al-Faisal added that, in the event of a U.S. veto, domestic and regional pressures would force Saudi Arabia to adopt a far more assertive foreign policy at odds with U.S. interests, such as “recent military support for Bahrain’s monarchy, which America opposed,” opposing the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, and parting ways with Washington in Afghanistan and Yemen. He contends that the Middle East would be better served if the U.S.-Saudi alliance remained in tact, but stressed that Saudi Arabia is willing to “chart a new and divergent course.”

He asserts that if the Obama administration refuses support for Palestine, this decision would in turn empower Iran, cause an uproar among Muslims, and “substantial damage to American-Saudi relations.”