Article Summary – Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s November visit to Washington marked a full rehabilitation from “pariah” to prized partner.
-He secured U.S. defense assurances, a path to F-35 sales, and a “major non-NATO ally” designation, while also landing coveted AI deals for Saudi-backed Humain with top American tech firms.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Melanie “MACH” Kluesner, F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team pilot and commander, flies an aerial demonstration certification flight at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Feb. 22, 2024. Upon the 388th Fighter Wing commander certification, the F-35 Demo Team pilot is required to complete the Air Combat Command Heritage Flight Training Course. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kaitlyn Ergish)
-The winners are Riyadh’s security and diversification agenda; the losers are Netanyahu, Gazans, and advocates of accountability for Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
-With no movement on Gaza or normalization, Trump publicly downplayed MBS’s role in the killing, underscoring how U.S. realpolitik has firmly eclipsed rule-of-law concerns.
Inside MBS’ Big Win in Washington: Defense Assurances, AI Gold Rush, Zero Concessions
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) enjoyed a triumphant visit to Washington, November 18-19.
The pomp and circumstance surrounding his welcome, including a military flyover and an equestrian escort, underscored how far he has come in rehabilitating his image since Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
More importantly for MBS, he scored big wins in security and artificial intelligence.
At the same time, the visit was a setback for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Gazans, and those who believe in the rule of law.
Saudi Protections
Securing an unequivocal US commitment to defend Saudi Arabia was MBS’s primary objective for his visit.
The absence of an overt US response to the 2019 Iranian attack on Aramco oil facilities, coupled with the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan two years later, deeply unnerved the Saudis and accelerated their efforts for strategic diversification.
China is an important economic partner, but it lacks the capability to defend Saudi Arabia, much less the interest. Moreover, the United States has been the country’s security partner of choice since King Abdulaziz ibn Saud (MBS’s grandfather) created modern-day Saudi Arabia nearly a century ago.
The November 18 White House fact sheet about the Crown Prince’s visit touted a new US-Saudi Strategic Defense Agreement but provided few details beyond the sale of F-35 stealth aircraft, which Trump had announced the day before.
Later the same day, President Trump announced his intention to designate Saudi Arabia as a “major non-NATO ally.”
While the vague language in the Strategic Defense Agreement and the non-NATO ally designation fall short of the explicit defense guarantees Qatar received in President Trump’s September 29 executive order, MBS returned home with renewed confidence in the US commitment to his country’s security.
Leveraging US-Chinese competition in artificial intelligence (AI) to get deals for Humain (the Saudi AI company created just this year with funding from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) was the second important goal for the Crown Prince’s visit. AI is an increasingly important sector for Saudi Arabia as MBS seeks to diversify its economy, particularly because the returns on investment in mega-projects such as NEOM are lower than originally hoped.
The Crown Prince is eager to have the United States as a partner in its AI ambitions, and US technology companies are more than willing to do business with Saudi Arabia. Executives from leading US technology companies attended “Davos in the Desert” (Saudi Arabia’s annual Future Investment Initiative conference) at the end of October and the US-Saudi investment summit held at the Kennedy Center on November 19. Many were guests at the November 18 White House dinner honoring MBS.
The Department of Commerce paved the way with its November 19 announcement that it had authorized the export of advanced AI chips to Humain, which also announced deals with xAI, Cisco, and AMD that day.
Regional Effects
While the visit was a success for the Saudi Crown Prince, it was deeply disappointing for the Israeli Prime Minister, the Gazans, and those who believe in the rule of law.
President Trump’s November 17 announcement that he would propose selling F-35s to Saudi Arabia was a setback for Prime Minister Netanyahu. The Trump administration had signaled that the sale was in the works, and the visit of the Saudi Defense Minister (MBS’s younger brother) the previous week sealed the deal.
While Prime Minister Netanyahu anticipated the announcement, he was undoubtedly disappointed that the United States did not condition the sale on Saudi normalization of ties with Israel. Equally troubling, perhaps, Netanyahu must be wondering how long the Israeli economy—as dynamic as it is, particularly in technological innovation—can compete on a level with Saudi Arabia.
Gazans hoping for progress on the implementation of Trump’s 20-point peace plan—and particularly a Saudi commitment to reconstruction—were also let down. The White House fact sheet did not include a single mention of Gaza, Palestine, or Israel.
The only straw Palestinians could grasp—and it was a slim one—was MBS’s unequivocal reaffirmation that a “clear path” to Palestinian statehood is necessary before Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel.
President Trump’s Oval Office whitewashing of the Crown Prince’s complicity in the gruesome murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was as unsurprising as it was unwelcome to those who believe in the rule of law and inhabit the fact-based universe.
Notwithstanding the US intelligence community’s assessment that MBS approved the operation, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office meeting that “things happen” and the Crown Prince “knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that.”
As The Washington Post editorial board explained later the same day, “these distortions dishonor Khashoggi’s legacy, stand at odds with the facts and are beneath the office of the president.”
MBS’s New Standing
The Saudi Crown Prince’s whirlwind visit to Washington marked his maturation and (for some) his rehabilitation. MBS succeeded in achieving his goals for the visit without making any concessions.
He won US defense assurances and materiel to defend his country and his ambitious plans to develop its economy.
He also succeeded in establishing Saudi Arabia as a leading US partner in artificial intelligence and attracting US investment to help diversify the Saudi economy.
The Crown Prince’s flight home must have been exceedingly comfortable in every respect.
About the Author: Gordon Gray
Gordon Gray is the Kuwait Professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He was a career Foreign Service officer whose assignments included Deputy Commandant of the National War College, Ambassador to Tunisia, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. Follow him on Bluesky: @AmbGordonGray.bsky.social
