It's as clear as it gets. The United States guarantees the House of Saud'a rule in exchange for military and regional policy concessions.
If the KSA quits, America can pull its security guarantee and the regime falls. If the United States quits, the KSA can...sell Treausries and stop selling us oil?
The United States was 61% energy independent in 2013, with net energy imports falling [1]. We also import lots of oil from Mexico and Canada. The energy threat isn't existentially potent.
Regarding Treasuries, the accounts could be frozen and sanctions levied. Again, power is asymmetric.
It's as clear as it gets. The United States guarantees the House of Saud'a rule in exchange for military and regional policy concessions.
If the KSA quits, America can pull its security guarantee and the regime falls. If the United States quits, the KSA can...sell Treausries and stop selling us oil?
The United States was 61% energy independent in 2013, with net energy imports falling [1]. We also import lots of oil from Mexico and Canada. The energy threat isn't existentially potent.
Regarding Treasuries, the accounts could be frozen and sanctions levied. Again, power is asymmetric.
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_energy_indepen...