THE HOLLOW FORTRESS: UNMASKING THE UNPRECEDENTED DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA’S MIDDLE EAST FOOTPRINT

Allies in Retreat: The Saudi “Hedge”

Perhaps the most significant damage isn’t to the buildings, but to the alliances. Saudi Arabia, America’s longest-standing Arab ally since the 1940s, is now telling CNN that the alliance with the U.S. “cannot be exclusive and is not impregnable.”

Gulf states are watching U.S. troops work out of hotels and apartments because their bases are “sitting ducks.” This realization is pushing traditional U.S. allies to start hedging their security, building relationships with China and Russia as backup guarantors. The architecture of American power in the Middle East is shifting irreversibly.