The Middle East will never achieve peace. It is a violent and deadly region where civil liberties are under attack and basic human rights are thrown away by corrupt and greedy dictators who stand against American values. When pinpointing the reason for instability in the region, one country continues to rear its horrifying face: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has shown promise with the rise of the new Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who recently allowed women to drive and reopened movie theaters with movies from the Western world. 

However, women still do not have access to basic human rights and corruption still runs their government. 

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been allies for years now, dating all the way back to the mid-twentieth century. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have long been arms partners with the Kingdom, and when they bombed neighboring Yemen, an attack that resulted in the death of school children, they used a bomb manufactured in the U.S.

Along with being a business partner in the way of arms, we have formed such a tight bond with the Kingdom because of their massive oil reserves. This made the Saudi Royal Family rich and left many wondering what they were going to do with their massive supply of money. It seems that the bond we have with the country over oil wasn’t enough, however, to keep Saudi Arabia from financing the terrorist organization of Al-Qaeda, which, of course, flew planes into the World Trade Centers and Pentagon. 

Additionally, Saudi Arabia was under scrutiny last year after the death of Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident and journalist who spoke out against the Saudi regime and was led to his death in a Saudi embassy located in Turkey.

So, just to recap, America has a tight-knit relationship with a kingdom that still limits democracy and fundamental human rights. Many Americans want our relationship with the Saudis to conclude and for the U.S. to move to an oil-free alternative resource to power America.

Last week, tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran rose exponentially this past week as the two countries engaged in multiple bombings. This came as the U.S. and Iran exchanged threats of war after a U.S. drone was struck down by the middle eastern country.

Just a few days ago, Iran attacked a Saudi oil facility, prompting the President to issue a statement saying that the U.S. is ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to defend the monarchy, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying that the attack was an “act of war.” 

Iran has since responded, warning of all-out war.

A cynical person would claim that the President and his administration are preparing to send the U.S. into an all-out war in a region that we should have no interest in. 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard has said that “being Saudi Arabia’s b—- is not putting America first.” 

When President Trump stands with the nation of Saudi Arabia, it is setting a dangerous precedent that shows that the U.S. is quick to throw away its ideals for the promise of money and oil, and the President’s remarks make every patriotic American quiver while gently clutching their American flag.

Saudi Arabia stands against every American value we hold true, and standing with them is an endorsement of those values. Until we stop meddling in affairs that are not of American concern and that are against American ideals, we will never be the beacon of democracy that we were intended to be.