Essay

Saudi Arabia and Iran are two countries that sit on opposite sides of the Sunni/Shiite divide, which can be argued as being the most prominent issue the Middle East faces today. Saudi Arabia is predominantly known to be a Sunni state, while Iran is largely inhabited by Shia Muslims. Both countries aspire to be the hegemonic powers of the region. Ethnically, Iran is known to be a Persian land, unlike Saudi Arabia that is known to be in the heart of the Arab world. These two countries are separated by the Arabian Gulf and throughout the twentieth century and up until today, the relationship between the two countries has been notoriously contentious. Within the past few years especially relationships between the two states have been very fragile with Saudi Arabia ending diplomatic ties early in 2016. The two states are strained over many issues of which are, interpretations of Islam, oil export policy and hegemonic regional leadership.

The gulf war began in the early 1990. It began when Saddam Hussein invaded his neighbors who were rich in oil.George W. Bush was in power as the U.S president he successfully spearheaded the war. President Bush’s foreign policy team forged an international coalition that was very unpredictable. This coalition consisted of the NATO allies and countries like Saudi Arabia,Egypt and Syria (The Middle East countries). Russia also joined the United States in condemning Iraq, who was its long-term client’s state. For this reason, Russia were not able to commit its troops.In 1991, air campaign was led by the department of state. This was followed by “operation desert storm” a war that managed to expel Iraqi forces from

In Islam there are 2 major factions: Sunni and Shia. Most Muslims are Sunni [~85%], and Shia are [~15%]. Shia Muslims, while a global minority, are the majority in Iraq [~65% of Iraqi population] and Iran [90% of Iranian population]. Most other Muslim nations have a Sunni majority: Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, ect.

The United States relationship with Saudi Arabia is one that begun on February 14, 1945 when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met King Al-Saud at the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal. After World War II the United States became the most influential foreign power in Saudi Arabia. US’s main interest was focused in the direction of the oil industry. Then in 1960 Saudi Arabia was one of the main driving forces in the creation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). During the Cold War, Saudis favored the United States while the two also continued to but heads over the issue concerning the ever present Israeli-Arab conflict. Americas constant support for Israel has, and will continue to be an issue that brings about confrontation between the Saudis and the United States. Foreign relation ties never were as intense as they were during the Persian Gulf War. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait posed a potential threat to the Saudis provoking the United States to intervene. The Saudis allowed the United States to have access to their bases during this time. Since that time, our troops have remained there which is something that has led to much controversy because many Islamist believe that we our occupying their holy land. This has sparked many extremist to take action, most notably Osama Bin Laden who used this reasoning to justify the horrors of 9/11. Post 9/11 opened a new chapter to US-Saudi

The Obama administration did a good job of “bolstering” Jordan against chaos from Iraq and Syria so far, but stepping back from the region could still stir up some problems with the neighboring countries of Jordan such as Lebanon, Turkey, Tunisia, and Egypt. Although it being risky for the United States, it may not always work to be involved in other countries because of cost and resources that would be used to stabilize the foreign countries rather than reconstructing them. All of these countries want and need western economic, diplomatic, technical, and military assistance, but in order to make that happen, the U.S. needs to get rid of the root of the problem, stating that no matter how many terrorists the United States kills, if these civil wars don’t stop, “more young men will turn to terrorism” (Pollack). There are urgent requests from the Yemeni government for economic reconstruction, which is in a deadly competition with Al-Quaeda (C. Chosky & J. Chosky).  Hence, the United States could do a better job in foreign nations.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has emerged in the aftermath of the U.S invasion of Iraq in 2003. The U.S military occupation of Iraq, the removal of Saddam Hussein and their aftermaths are at the heart of the rise of extremism in the regions of Iraq, Syria and Libya. After the removal of Saddam Hussein from power in 2003 and the creation of the U.S-backed Malaki government, the Iraqis Sunnis felt that they were politically marginalized and started rebelling against the structural changes happening in their country. In 2004, Al Zarqawi a Jordanian-born and leader of the jihadist group Jama’at al Tawhid w’al Jihad formed Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in collaboration with Al Qaeda and its leader, Bin Laden. The “shiafication” of the Iraqi government and the presence of U.S military are the two main reasons for Iraqi-Sunni

When Iraq formally added Kuwait to its own territory United States and other Western nations tried to stop it.  The United Nations demanded Iraq to withdraw their troops from Kuwait Before January 1991 or they are going to view Iraq as a threat and take action.  Saddam Hussein refused to obey and didn’t withdraw.  This is when the first United States air force planes landed in Saudi Arabia.  These planes were filled with troops sent by NATO allies to guard a possible attack from Saudi Arabia.  Saudi Arabia tried to gain Muslim support by declaring a jihad (holy war).  When that didn’t work he tried to gain Palestinian support by offering to help with Israeli occupied territory problem if they help evacuate Kuwait.   When that failed he made peace with Iran so that Iraq can fight with all of its

The Persian Gulf War was between the United States and Iraq. It started August 2, 1990 and didn’t end until February 28, 1991. Iraq was ordered by their leader Saddam Hussein to invade Kuwait because they had to pay for 8 year war between them and Iran and they wanted to gain access to the oil market. Which the only way to do this was accessing the Persian Gulf and Kuwait was the easiest country to invade for them to do this. This brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the U.N. Security Council this was because Iraq violated U.N. sanctions. The U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed U.S. forces into Saudi Arabia,

The conflict also links to the power struggle between the Shia government of Iran and Sunni government of Saudi Arabia as they border each other. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are against a Houthi takeover because they fear they may no longer have free passage through Yemen. Saudi Arabia and members of a coalition first got involved when they launched a military operation which aimed to bering back the rule of President Hadi.

In Saudi Arabia, the majority of the population identify as Sunnis while twenty-five percent of the population identify as Shia. The Sunni-Shia relations in Saudi Arabia are critical to the outcome of the Arab Springs in Saudi Arabia. The Shias being the minority of Saudi Arabia are known for facing higher levels of discrimination, poverty and oppression. When protests began in Saudi Arabia, it was mainly the Shias protesting. This Sunni-Shia divide is one of the major causes of the constant conflict that has defined the Middle East for almost a century now. The two countries most defined by this sectarian divide is Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia. Many of the conflicts between the Sunni and Shia sect in other countries have been a result of the proxy wars between these two nations. Syria is a good example of the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran because Saudi Arabia has provided funding to the Syrian rebel groups who are made up Sunnis, while Iran has been providing support for the Assad regime who are

The US Director of National Intelligence provided information about the resurgence of AQAP in 2006, which he stated for reports, was a direct effect of Yemen’s political and economic crisis. Saudi Arabia watched carefully as Yemen slowly spiraled out of control. Saudi Arabia looked at the southern country struggling for control of internal conflicts and security challenges. Yemen currently faces enormous challenges. It has the highest population growth in the world and is the poorest state in the Arab world. Yemeni infrastructure is depleting at an uncontrollable rate as both water and oil are diminishing due to the overpopulation. Yemeni funded state incomes and public services wages for workers cause tribal and urban strife. The internal conflicts result from the overpaying of government officials by external donors. The US' relations date back to 1946, establishing diplomatic ties and openly recognized Yemen Arab Republic in 1962. The Arab-Israeli conflict in 1967 caused a major falling out between US and Yemen.

Countries in the area have hoarded, are using, and are asking for more American arms. These events have unleashed the possibility of a dangerous new arms race in areas of turmoil and changing alliances.3 Some of the arms the United States sold to the region are being used in conflicts. Saudi Arabia uses Boeing F-15 fighters to strike Yemen and the United Arab Emirates is flying Lockheed Martin F-16’s to bomb Yemen and Syria.3 Saudi Arabia in particular has committed human rights abuses in its air war in Yemen. Amnesty International has called on the US to cease selling bombs, fighter jets, and combat helicopters to Saudi Arabia. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the conflict between Saudi Arabia and anti-government rebels has killed thousands of civilians, and two-thirds of those lives were claimed by Saudi air strikes.4

Yemen is a middle eastern country that is mostly a hot and arid desert, with some high mountainous areas. The Yemeni population is predominantly Arab with Sunni and Shi’a Muslim religious beliefs. The country has a population of 26 million with a geographic size of 204,000 square miles. The country is between Oman and Saudi Arabia, bordering the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. (Nations Online, n.d.) Yemen is a country whose roots dates back tens of thousands of years. What was once a very powerful and prosperous country in its early years, is now a war torn political and economic disaster. Peace and stability, is nowhere in sight for this Arab nation, the political conflict and corruption has

We wonder, what are the implications of the fall of Sanaa on Gulf security in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular? Yemen has geographical limits equal to 1485 km,

The militant groups related to al-Qaeda have gained considerable strength in the southern region of Yemen. These militant groups are reported to be stronger than the country’s military, and this can be seen from the level of the expansion made by the militancy. During his regime, Ali Abdullah Saleh described Yemen as “an island in a sea of al-Qaeda” (Raghavan). In late February of 2012, a regime change happened in Yemen as Saleh stepped down from the presidency, and Hadi was elected the new president in a one candidate election. In the midst of the Arab Spring movement to the transfer of power from Saleh to Hadi and the present situations in Yemen, the Islamist militant groups have garnered greater control over some of the state’s southern