America’s Gulf allies need reassurance

Saudi Arabia’s refusal to take its seat on the Security Council had much less to do with the UN than with calling attention to frustration at how its most important western ally has been acting on the Iran front

• By Marwan Kabalan | Special to Gulf News
• October 31, 2013 | http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/america-s-gulf-allies-need-reassurance-1.1249709
  

On October 18, Saudi Arabia took the world by surprise when it abruptly rejected a UN Security Council seat to which it had just been elected. No member of the UN had ever done such a thing, and the Saudi government’s explanation was similarly stunning.

“The ... double standards existing in the Security Council prevent it from performing its duties and assuming its responsibilities,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry charged, and results have been “continued disruption of peace and security, the expansion of the injustices against peoples, the violation of rights, and the spread of conflicts and wars”.