Since the 1960s Saudi Arabia and the US have maintained a strategic alliance which has often involved a delicate diplomatic balancing act. Characterized by overlapping interests and mutual dependency - the US on the Kingdom for its oil and regional influence, Saudi Arabia on the US for security and legitimacy - Saudi-US relations have withstood successive changes of kings and presidents alike. However, since 9/11 officials in both countries have been reluctant to proclaim their relations openly for fear of national opposition. Arguing that Saudi-US relations are critical to developments in the Middle East, Naif bin Hethlain revisits critical past events - Egypt's involvement in Yemen, the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Gulf Wars, and the fall of the Twin Towers, among others - and uses them as a framework with which to examine the two nations' complex relationship. Insightful and exhaustively researched, "Saudi Arabia and the US since 1962" is a nuanced assessment of over forty-five years of geopolitics.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 325-363) and index.

Introduction --- 1. The Faisal Era (1962-79): Mutual Collaboration, Different Agendas -- 2. The First Fahd Era (1979-90): From Reserved Cooperation to Far-Reaching Dependence -- 3. The Later Fahd Legacy (1990-2001): From Reliance to Mutual Liability -- 4. The 'Abdullah Era (2001-06): Confrontation, Mutual Accusation and Disappointment --- Conclusion --- Postscript: Obama: Continuation or Change?