U.S. sees big gains if Mideast mega-deal sealed - but at what price?

Desert TortoiseToday 02:00 am JST

Cool fiction you got there, or at least it would be if it weren't just another attempt at apologizing for Russia's imperialism.

He makes a valid point. No the Saudis are not among the top ten holders of US debt. Yes, the US is the world's largest producer of oil and hardly needs Saudi oil, though important US allies certainly do.

What you are missing is that the Saudis demand payment for their oil exports in US Dollars. Ponder what happens if the Saudis start to accept other currencies such as, oh maybe the Euro or the Yuen. it is not out of the realm of possibility.

They're not going to stop taking US dollars. Adding the Euro or the Yuan is not going to be the end of the world for the dollar. There is more in the world to buy than Saudi oil.

Neither the Saudi's nor Israeli's are to be trusted. It seems governments and rulers of all types in the middle east are rotten to the core. Best if the US supports none of them.

Cool fiction you got there, or at least it would be if it weren't just another attempt at apologizing for Russia's imperialism.

He makes a valid point. No the Saudis are not among the top ten holders of US debt. Yes, the US is the world's largest producer of oil and hardly needs Saudi oil, though important US allies certainly do.

What you are missing is that the Saudis demand payment for their oil exports in US Dollars. Ponder what happens if the Saudis start to accept other currencies such as, oh maybe the Euro or the Yuen. it is not out of the realm of possibility.

The Saudis want an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-normalisation-saudi-delegation-arrives-occupied-west-bank

Meanwhile Bibi goes around showing a map title "The New Middle East" that erases Palestine entirely, depicting all of the Occupied Territories in the Gaza Strip and West Bank as part of Israel.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-saudi-arabia-netanyahu-promotes-normalisation-new-map-erasing-palestine

Something tells me any negotiations regarding future Saudi recognition of Israel will become stalemated on this detail.

How quickly they forget about bodies of US citizens being cut up in Turkish embassies to do deals.

commanteerToday 05:09 pm JST

It's not a question of oil. The US has all the oil they need. The US needs Saudi to support the petrodollar that enables the US dollar to have an inflated value - and they need them for territorial hegemonic ambitions. The Saudis became less cooperative under Bush but especially Obama, who treated them like a pariah state. One could say they should be treated that way, but it's incredibly dumb to then expect them to continue supporting the US dollar and imperialist ambitions and not to go to friendlier nations instead.

Saudi Arabia isn't even in the top 10 of US debt holders.

https://usafacts.org/articles/which-countries-own-the-most-us-debt/

Cool fiction you got there, or at least it would be if it weren't just another attempt at apologizing for Russia's imperialism.

It's not a question of oil. The US has all the oil they need. The US needs Saudi to support the petrodollar that enables the US dollar to have an inflated value - and they need them for territorial hegemonic ambitions. The Saudis became less cooperative under Bush but especially Obama, who treated them like a pariah state. One could say they should be treated that way, but it's incredibly dumb to then expect them to continue supporting the US dollar and imperialist ambitions and not to go to friendlier nations instead.

My question is how reliable a partner would they be? If they shutdown a hypothetical pipeline because Xi told them to, or bin Salman starts assassinating again, that would be bad for everyone. The leverage of cutting off parts for their weapons hasn't seemed to work previously. Maybe Europe should take the lead on this as they need the Saudis more than the US does as I understand it.