For the last two and a half decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have had a very special relationship through war, oil crises, and global terrorism. At a time when understanding our friends is as important as knowing our enemies, understanding Prince Bandar bin Sultan may be the key to figuring out the Saudis. He has played key roles in The Cold War, the Iran-Contra Affair, the withdrawal of the Soviet military from Afghanistan and the negotiation...
Saudi Arabia and the United States have been partners since 1943, when President Roosevelt met with two future Saudi monarchs. Subsequent U.S. presidents have had direct relationships with those kings and their successors-setting the tone for a special partnership between an absolute monarchy with a unique Islamic identity and the world's most powerful democracy. Although based in large part on economic interests, the U.S.-Saudi relationship has...
Cooper explores how the U.S. decision in the mid-1970s to choose Saudi Arabia as the dominant oil power in the Mideast ultimately led to the Islamic revolution in Iran.