Thicker Than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia

New
Paperback
2008
$17.43

For fifty-five years, the United States and Saudi Arabia were solid partners. Then came the 9/11 attacks, which sorely tested that relationship. In Thicker than Oil, Rachel Bronson reveals why the partnership became so intimate and how the countries' shared interests sowed the seeds of today's most pressing problem-Islamic radicalism. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, declassified documents, and interviews with leading Saudi and American officials, and including many colourful stories of diplomatic adventures and misadventures, Bronson chronicles a history of close, and always controversial, contacts. She argues that contrary to popular belief the relationship was never simply about oil for security. Saudi Arabia's geographic location and religiously motivated foreign policy figured prominently in American efforts to defeat godless communism. From Africa to Afghanistan, Egypt to Nicaragua, the two worked to beat back Soviet expansion. But decisions made for hard-headed Cold War purposes left behind a legacy that today inflames the Middle East. Looking forward, Bronson outlines the challenges confronting the relationship. The Saudi government faces a zealous internal opposition bent on America's and Saudi Arabia's destruction. Yet from the perspective of both countries, the status quo is clearly unsustainable. The most solid book to date on the vital relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, with important new historical material and a hard-headed look at our tough policy choices for the future. -Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus, The Council on Foreign Relations The best sections of her impressively researched book explain the complexity and ambition of joint U.S.-Saudi undertakings against communist governments and guerrilla movements during the Cold War-not only in Afghanistan...but also in the Middle East, Africa and Central America. -Steve Coll, Washington Post Book World

Synopsis

For fifty-five years, the United States and Saudi Arabia were solid partners. Then came the 9/11 attacks, which sorely tested that relationship. In Thicker than Oil, Rachel Bronson reveals why the partnership became so intimate and how the countries' shared interests sowed the seeds of today's most pressing problem-Islamic radicalism. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, declassified documents, and interviews with leading Saudi and American officials, and including many colourful stories of diplomatic adventures and misadventures, Bronson chronicles a history of close, and always controversial, contacts. She argues that contrary to popular belief the relationship was never simply about oil for security. Saudi Arabia's geographic location and religiously motivated foreign policy figured prominently in American efforts to defeat godless communism. From Africa to Afghanistan, Egypt to Nicaragua, the two worked to beat back Soviet expansion. But decisions made for hard-headed Cold War purposes left behind a legacy that today inflames the Middle East. Looking forward, Bronson outlines the challenges confronting the relationship. The Saudi government faces a zealous internal opposition bent on America's and Saudi Arabia's destruction. Yet from the perspective of both countries, the status quo is clearly unsustainable. The most solid book to date on the vital relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, with important new historical material and a hard-headed look at our tough policy choices for the future. -Leslie H. Gelb, President Emeritus, The Council on Foreign Relations The best sections of her impressively researched book explain the complexity and ambition of joint U.S.-Saudi undertakings against communist governments and guerrilla movements during the Cold War-not only in Afghanistan...but also in the Middle East, Africa and Central America. -Steve Coll, Washington Post Book World

$17.43

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: OUP USA
Published: 31 Jul 2008
ISBN 10: 0195367057
ISBN 13: 9780195367058

Media Reviews

Rachel Bronson's Thicker than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia takes on an important subject matter, the history of the U.S.--Daudi relationship, and makes an important contribution to the literature. Bronson's book is thoroughly researched, with extensive citations to diplomatic accounts, autobiographies, government documents, and intersting interviews woven into a storyboard text that is lieable and enjoyable to read. --Amy Myers Jaffe, International Journal of Middle East Studies

Author Bio

Rachel Bronson is Vice President of Programs and Studies at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Her writings have appeared in publications such as Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest, The New York Times, Washington Post, and The Chicago Tribune. She has commented widely on foreign affairs in outlets such as NPR, CNN, The Lehrer News Hour, The Charlie Rose Show, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.