ignores Biden repeatedly requested, OPEC + significantly reduced oil production, and Washington was furious. From White House to the US Congress, we have repeatedly threatened to take action against Saudi and retaliate. Now the US retaliation plan has finally emerged.
According to US media reports, three Democratic lawmakers have submitted bills to Congress, demanding the withdrawal of the US military and missile defense system in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and cancel military support for both countries to punish OPEC+ countries for production cuts.
The joint statement released on the same day was full of anger. The three lawmakers said that Biden has put down his figure several times in recent months to show goodwill to the two countries, but they have decided to cut production significantly. This is definitely a hostile act against the United States, which is "deliberately hurting" the United States, and it is also a clear signal of choosing to stand on Russia's side.
Regarding Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Russia's side, it is not that Democratic MPs themselves labeled both countries, but that they made the characterization made by the White House. The White House has made it clear that the decision of OPEC+ is to be consistent with Russia.
What is the relationship between the United States and Russia today? A conflict between Russia and Ukraine has told you everything. Washington characterizes OPEC+ production cuts as choosing sides between the United States and Russia, and this time it is probably going to be serious. Are Saudi Arabia and the UAE really afraid of the threat of withdrawal from the United States?
Fundamentally, the relationship between United States and Middle East originates from the binding of oil and US dollar. The United States uses this to consolidate the hegemony of the dollar, while the Middle East exchanges for security protection. However, the problem is that the bond of interests between the two sides has long been broken. The current situation can be said to be the result of the "two-way rushing" between the two sides.
On the one hand, in recent years, the breakthrough in the US shale oil technology has increased US oil production, and the US's dependence on Middle East oil has been greatly reduced.
If we lengthen the timeline, we can find that withdrawing troops from the Middle East actually started as early as the Obama era, and it is the established strategy of the United States. Trump accelerated the withdrawal plan during the period. Before Biden took office, he condemned the Saudi crown prince in the Khashoggi case and once stated that he would no longer provide weapons to Saudi Arabia for the Yemen war. If it weren't for the subsequent Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the ensuing energy crisis , Biden would probably have really fulfilled his promise.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have obviously been planning to deal with the situation without the protection of the United States in recent years. It can be clearly seen that these two countries intend to launch a major reconciliation in the Middle East to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East in another way. In the past two years, they have interacted successively in Iran, , , Türkiye, and other countries, and have continued to break the ice. Saudi Arabia and China use RMB to settle settlement is a landmark event in the unbundling of Middle East oil and the US dollar.
In addition, the actions of the United States in recent years have forced the Middle East countries to find a way out. The United States has ruined the Middle East, but it is said that it will withdraw its troops and does not take the interests of the Middle East seriously. To Saudi Arabia, criticizing the Saudi crown prince and threatening the Yemen issue is still far away. Under the energy crisis, the United States even wants to OPEC's ban on oil pricing for its own interests. The United States led the attempt to limit prices of Russian oil by G7 and EU , which is the source of this conflict between the two sides.
For Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the withdrawal of the United States is just the difference between long and short pain. The security threat brought by the Yemen crisis is certainly a major concern for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but what the United States wants to do this time is Saudi Arabia's lifeblood - oil pricing power. As the leaders of OPEC, the two countries need to take care of the interests of the entire group. The US withdrawal threat seems to have grasped the Middle East leaders, but in fact, it may not necessarily force the two countries to submit.
analysts pointed out that if Washington really decides to withdraw troops from the two countries, the United States will not actually benefit. In the long run, the United States will lose its control of the Middle East, which is a complete diplomatic failure; in the short term, the Biden administration's energy policy will be subject to more fierce attacks at home, and the midterm election is approaching, which is also an important reason why Democratic lawmakers are so angry.
Of course, the United States is not without tools to stabilize oil prices, and Biden can continue to release the United States' oil reserves. Previously, the United States had released 180 million barrels of oil reserves to rescue emergency measures, accounting for one-third of its strategic oil reserves.
But the problem is that the United States is now making up its mind to drag the Russian-Ukrainian conflict into a long-term war and consume Russia. One-third of its oil reserves were burned in less than half a year. If there was no oil from the Middle East, how long would the remaining oil reserves of the United States last for Biden?
Although the United States has oil, like Europe, the Democratic Party of the United States advocates vigorously developing clean energy, which has led to American fossil energy companies being very cautious in long-term investment and would rather distribute profits than expand their scale, which has caused the current energy dilemma in the United States.
As the commentary of " Wall Street Journal " said, The energy problem in the United States is not caused by OPEC+ production cuts, but a problem created by the United States itself. Anger is a manifestation of incompetence, and the hysteria of Washington politicians against Saudi Arabia and the UAE is the best footnote to this sentence.
