Un commento di Bruce Riedel apparso una settimana fa sulla rivista online Al Monitor illustra bene gli obiettivi strategici dei sauditi nell’area medio-orientale e l’allentamento, almeno per ora, del rapporto con gli Stati Uniti:

[…] The Saudis remain very dubious about American policy toward the Arab awakening. They want a more robust American role in arming the rebels in Syria, support for Sisi in Egypt and unrestrained backing for the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain. For decades, the American-Saudi relationship was built around a shared threat assessment that emphasized stability over reform in the region. Washington and Riyadh no longer share the same assessment of the threat and that means trouble will continue in the oldest American alliance in the Middle East. Cooperation will continue on al-Qaeda for sure, but we are likely to be on different agendas when it comes to the future of reform movements still pressing for change from Algiers to Aden.