Turki Al-Faisal Reveals His Cards

Back in early June, Prince Turki Al-Faisal wrote an article in the Washington Post in which he warned America against vetoing the Palestinian bid for statehood. He wrote back then:

In September, the kingdom will use its considerable diplomatic might to support the Palestinians in their quest for international recognition. […] There will be disastrous consequences for U.S.-Saudi relations if the United States vetoes U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state.

Today comes the sequel to that article, in the New York Times, in which Mr. Al-Faisal reveals what those “disastrous consequence” would be:

Saudi leaders would be forced by domestic and regional pressures to adopt a far more independent and assertive foreign policy. Like our recent military support for Bahrain’s monarchy, which America opposed, Saudi Arabia would pursue other policies at odds with those of the United States, including opposing the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Iraq and refusing to open an embassy there despite American pressure to do so. The Saudi government might part ways with Washington in Afghanistan and Yemen as well.

I’ll leave it up to you to judge how much the above fits the “disastrous consequences” moniker, or whether Saudi Arabia conducts its foreign policy for spite or for its own best interests. But this was just one small aspect of Al-Faisal’s article which I recommend you read in its entirety, if only for its refreshing no-nonsense straight-talk. Al-Faisal tried to reason with the American administration by arguing that supporting the Palestinian bid for statehood would be strategically beneficial against Iran. That argument, unfortunately, has yet to find any traction with an American administration.