The kingdom maintains an arsenal of tools to retaliate with, including
curtailing official contacts,
pulling billions of dollars from the US economy,
persuading its close allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council
to scale back
counterterrorism cooperation,
investments
and US access to important regional air bases.
"This should be clear to America and to the rest of the world:
When one GCC state is targeted unfairly, the others stand around it,"
"All the states will stand by Saudi Arabia in every way possible,"
"No one knows how Saudi Arabia might respond to an override of President Obama's veto?"
The CEOs of DOW and GE sent letters to Congress
warning of the bill's potentially destabilizing impact on American interests abroad.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter this week sent a letter to Congress saying
"important counterterrorism efforts abroad" could be harmed
and
US foreign bases and facilities could be vulnerable to monetary damage awards in reciprocal cases.
Such reactions may not come directly from Riyadh
but countries connected to Saudi Arabia,
He said the eight-decade-long US-Saudi relationship is "entering into a new phase,"
in which ties will be mostly underpinned by arms sales,
unlike during the era of
warm relations under President George W. Bush.
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