The two countries had been allies since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1943. Things changed, however, after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The United States was shocked to find that Osama bin Laden, who is labeled by Washington as the mastermind behind the attacks, and most of the hijackers on September 11 were Saudis, mostly from the kingdom's southern and southwestern provinces.

Despite repeated proclamations of the Bush administration that the strategic and traditional ties between the two sides remain as stable and strong as ever, US security departments have arrested several Saudis living in the United States and frozen their bank accounts. At the same time, the US media launched an unprecedented campaign against Saudi Arabia. As a result, Saudis living in America complained about unfair treatment in public places and many of them chose to leave.

What is happening in America angered Saudis who believe that the September 11 terror attacks are the outcome of Washington's long-standing support for Israel and its hostile policies toward Islamic countries.

Anti-US sentiment in Saudi Arabia boiled in March and April into street protests, in open defiance of a ban on demonstrations, after Israeli troops occupied Palestinian-held West Bank cities.

Saudis took to the streets outside the US consulate general in the eastern city of Dhahran. In a rare move in the conservative kingdom, even women in the western Hijaz region came out to protest.

Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh, a paper that normally reflects the ideas of the government, warned last week in a front-page editorial that Saudi Arabia must reconsider its strategic alliance with the United States.

What will the Saudi-US ties become of? Will the two countries become enemies? To answer these questions, one has to look into the delicate bilateral relations.

Saudi Arabia, a Major Player in the Middle East

The United States needs Saudi cooperation in handling the Middle East conflict and in maintaining good relations with the Arab/Islamic world.

Saudi Arabia is a major player in the region and is dedicated to the Middle East peace process. As early as in 1982, Saudi Arabia put forward an eight-point Middle East peace plan and was the first Arab country that advocated the recognition of Israel.

Saudi Arabia also has enormous influence in the Arab/Islamic world as it provides large amounts of aid to the poor nations in the region. As the birth place of Islam, Saudi Arabia receives nearly 2 million pilgrims, including leaders from many Muslim countries, every year.

It's pretty clear that the US-Saudi alliance is of great importance to Washington.

The United States, meanwhile, depends on Saudi Arabia for oil supply. Saudi Arabia, one of the world largest oil producers with a daily output of 11 million barrels of crude oil, exports to the United States 1.6 million barrels of oil per day.

As a major oil producer in the world, Saudi Arabia has played a significant role in ensuring the world energy supply and stabilizing the world oil market, a fact which the United States can not ignore.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia's investment in the United States has also contributed much to the US economy. Statistics show that 60 percent of the current Saudi overseas investments of some 750 billion US dollars go to the United States, creating about 1.4 million jobs for the Americans.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia also needs US technology and equipment in its oil production and needs US help to enhance its national defense, at least in the near future.

Saudi-US Alliance Witnessing Downturn

Despite their interdependence in economy and politics, the two countries run into conflict from time to time over a series of issues because of their difference in culture.

The Unites States, the self-styled mouthpiece and defender of the so-called Western "democracy, freedom and human rights," is actively promoting around the globe Western values, thus running afoul of Saudi Arabia's Islamic culture.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the United States, which is supposed not to quarrel publicly with Riyadh in view of its fundamental interests in Saudi Arabia, went out of its way to condemn the latter for enforcing Islamic laws and rejecting modernization and Western civilization.

Disputes over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the issue of Iraq have further worsened the subtle relationship between Washington and Riyadh.

Over the past year, Saudi Arabia, while supporting the international fight against terrorism, has stepped up efforts to adapt its domestic and foreign policies to what is going on in the world, focusing on maintaining good terms with the Arab world and other Islamic countries while ensuring domestic stability.

On the Middle East conflict, Riyadh has been urging Washington to give up its one-sided policy that favors Israel and expressing its objection to a US military attack on Iraq. It says it will support Iraq in its efforts to return to the Arab world.

Because of the difference in values, the inherent contradiction between Saudi Arabia and the United States has become more and more obvious and the Saudi-US alliance has witnessed a downturn.

However, the common strategic interests binding the two countries for more than half a century remain the same. In the foreseeable future, the ties between the two allies are not likely to plunge into a predicament that will get out of control.

(People's Daily August 23, 2002)