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Nation states always prioritize the welfare of their citizens by providing security for them. American and European literature about Saudi Arabia frequently refers to the Kingdom’s concern for its security as if it is an exception to that rule.

They imply that insecurity drives its policy options. However, in the Middle East, the Kingdom has been the most secure country.

While the process of unifying the Kingdom by King Abdulaziz started at the turn of the 20th century, when all of the Arabian Peninsula suffered from insecurity, by the time of the actual unification in 1932 the Kingdom had got over the threats that impinged on her security.

The external threats from the Sharifi Kingdoms in Jordan and Iraq had receded. The threat from Yemen, although not yet diminished, was solved in 1934 when a peace agreement was reached with the Imam Yahya.

Internally, the state had successfully pacified the tribal disturbances that plagued the Kingdom in the twenties, and peace and tranquility reigned. The initial agreement with Great Britian signed in 1915 had been amended by the Jeddah agreement in 1927 certifying full independence for the Kingdom.

Various other agreements were signed with Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, and the Gulf states which were under British protection. A new term in international relations was introduced (the neutral zone) to apply to the borders with Iraq and Kuwait to delineate what territories between them and the Kingdom were amicably agreed to remain undelineated.

The discovery of oil by American companies in 1937 heralded the start of engagement with the US government. The income from oil was interrupted by the Second World War, at the end of which King Abdulaziz met with President Roosevelt and an agreement between the two countries was signed soon after.

American and European authors continue to this day to describe it as an oil for security agreement, whereas in fact it stipulated not only........

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