The "has worked very hard to make sure the US has a strategic interest in the region with regard to fossil fuels" perspective. The Saudis, in particular, have made it clear that if they don't get better deals than the average middle power does from the US, that it'd be very hard on the US economy because of their control over oil. There's a reason that you see so much in the way of defense and energy investment in the Kingdom, despite the almost diametrically-opposed cultures.
There's also Israel but that's getting into a whole thing that I don't want to sh*t the thread up with.
alt Hacker News
The "has worked very hard to make sure the US has a strategic interest in the region with regard to fossil fuels" perspective. The Saudis, in particular, have made it clear that if they don't get better deals than the average middle power does from the US, that it'd be very hard on the US economy because of their control over oil. There's a reason that you see so much in the way of defense and energy investment in the Kingdom, despite the almost diametrically-opposed cultures.
There's also Israel but that's getting into a whole thing that I don't want to sh*t the thread up with.