CIA tries to salvage Saudi-American relations

On the eve of the declassification of secret documents by the US bipartisan commission that investigated the attacks of September 11, 2001, CIA chief John Brennan warned that the documents contain unverified information which could be used to accuse senior representatives of Saudi Arabia and the Royal House of Saud of involvement in the terrorist attacks.

The crisis in relations

The United States has used the declassification of such documents as a bargaining chip to put pressure on Saudi Arabia in order to undermine the negotiations between leading oil-producing countries at Doha on April 17th, 2016. The Saudis opposed the measures aimed at raising oil prices. Thus, contrary to the interests of their own economy, the Saudis have joined the US economic pressure on Russia. This caused a crisis in US-Saudi relations since the Saudis in return have been compelled to promise to sell all of their investments in US securities.

CIA saves the day

A part of the American foreign policy elite is now trying to reel back from such blackmail. This particularly applies to the CIA, which has conventionally actively cooperated with the Saudis. The CIA has even trained Syrian militants actively cooperating with Saudi proxies in the country. The disclosure of the US bipartisan investigation's documents could eventually undermine US relations with their most important ally in the Middle East after Israel.

The Obama administration has formally opposed the bill that would allow US citizens to sue foreign states involved in terrorism. The appearance of this initiative is also expected to affect Saudi Arabia in conjunction with the publication of the secret documents concerning September 11th.

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CIA tries to salvage Saudi-American relations