Sadaf Noreen Awan
When The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been forced to move between heavily guarded, bunker-equipped underground palaces as Houthi strikes intensify, it painted a harrowing portrait of a leader facing an unprecedented security crisis. This grim reality is far more than a transient security scare; it exposes the alarming fallout and complete breakdown of a strategy rooted in uncritical reliance on Western patrons. For eight decades, the core Saudi security paradigm rested on a simple formula: oil in exchange for American defense. Today, as drones and missiles penetrate deep into the Kingdom’s heartland, that heavily reliance on Washington has yielded not stability, but strategic vulnerability, mounting economic strain, and a stark sense of betrayal.
The Crown Prince began the year with ambitious diplomatic moves, traveling to Washington and pledging nearly one trillion dollars in Saudi investments and capital outlays to the United States. In return, Riyadh expected an ironclad military shield against regional threats. Yet, when Houthi attacks reached critical thresholds, the response from Washington was tellingly cold and transactional. The Wall Street Journal reveals that Western policymakers restricted their intervention to sending limited advisers, stubbornly withholding direct, robust military help. Consequently, Saudi Arabia has been forced to stretch its finite air defenses across thousands of kilometers of exposed territory, shifting Patriot missile batteries endlessly between royal residences and crucial economic sites. Earlier strikes hit the east-west pipeline the critical artery meant to guarantee crude exports if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked. As a direct result, the Finance Ministry anticipates the economy shrinking by around 3.6 percent, while key pillars of Vision 2030 are stalled, defunded, or placed under emergency review.
This crisis is the logical outcome of an asymmetric trap. Riyadh poured tangible wealth, market access, and massive geopolitical leverage into Western alliances, receiving in exchange costly armaments and vague assurances that were never binding. American foreign policy is determined strictly by American domestic political calendars, corporate lobbies, and self-serving strategic calculations. For the Western military-industrial complex and political establishment, a prosperous, completely sovereign Saudi Arabia that achieves true economic and technological self-reliance under Vision 2030 is fundamentally secondary to their own balance sheets. By keeping Riyadh continuously dependent on foreign supplies while stoking regional fires, Western powers ensure that the Kingdom remains tethered to their dictate. A state that pledges a trillion dollars abroad while its own domestic infrastructure burns has every reason to recognize that purchased protection from foreign powers is just an illusion.
This strategic vulnerability is compounded by Washington’s deep entanglement with Israel, whose regional agenda inherently conflicts with Muslim sovereignty. For decades, Israel has relentlessly expanded illegal settlements, dismantled pathways to a viable Palestinian state, and violated peace agreements at will. It has turned Gaza into ruins, killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians, bombed Lebanon, struck Syria and Yemen, engaged in open confrontation with Iran, and even carried out strikes in Doha the host of a major US military base and key diplomatic hub. Israel’s clear strategic goal is to establish itself as the sole, unquestioned hegemon in the Middle East. A strong, modern, and united Saudi Arabia leading the broader Muslim world represents a geopolitical force that Western and Israeli strategists prefer to see constrained. Entrusting Saudi national security to a superpower inextricably aligned with Israeli hegemony is a fatal conflict of interest.
Furthermore, true defense cannot be bought through expensive hardware alone. High-tech defense platforms are only as reliable as the military doctrine, combat experience, and dedication of the forces operating them. Here, the military reality of Pakistan offers a profound and undeniable lesson. During the May 2025 conflict with India, the Pakistan Armed Forces demonstrated extraordinary tactical operational brilliance by shooting down several advanced Indian fighter jets, including French-made Rafales a feat later publicly endorsed by President Donald Trump on multiple international stages. While India refrained from admitting specific aerial losses, the global defense community recognized Pakistan’s formidable combat efficiency and battle-tested capability.
Saudi Arabia possesses some of the most expensive weapons systems money can buy, but hardware without an experienced, combat-hardened manpower base creates a dangerous illusion of security. Pakistan, the sole Muslim atomic power, by contrast, maintains one of the largest, most battle-hardened, and highly trained militaries in the Muslim world, with decades of experience training and advising Gulf defense forces. The September 2025 strategic mutual defense agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and later Makkah Pact this year along with Turkiye, must not remain passive documents; these pacts must become the cornerstones of its enduring security umbrella.
The Crown Prince now stands at a historic crossroads that requires a fundamental transformation in thinking. Moving from bunker to bunker while trusting Western powers that repeatedly fail in times of crisis is an unsustainable path. Instead of pouring financial capital into Western economies that offer no real defense, Riyadh must look towards genuine Muslim solidarity and build an indomitable regional alliance.
Saudi Arabia holds the ultimate strategic advantage that no Western technology can replicate: it is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the spiritual heart of over 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. Millions of believers across the globe, and every single soldier in Pakistan’s battle-tested armed forces, consider the defense of the Haramain a sacred religious obligation, a duty they are prepared to fulfill with their lives, unlike mercenary arrangements or politically contingent foreign guarantees.
To turn this sacred bond into an unshakeable shield, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must take bold, courageous steps:
End Dependence on Western Guarantees: Riyadh must recognize that Western promises are tied to foreign election cycles and interest groups that do not prioritize Saudi survival. Relying on Washington or seeking normalization with Israeli hegemony will only deepen regional isolation and internal vulnerability.
Foster Muslim Unity & Regional Reconciliation: Saudi Arabia must actively de-escalate regional conflicts. This means pursuing genuine, constructive dialogue with Iran, ending military operations in Yemen, and respecting the right of neighboring populations to live in peace and dignity. A united Muslim neighborhood eliminates the pretexts used by foreign powers to establish bases and divide the region.
Establish a Comprehensive Partnership with Pakistan: Saudi Arabia should move beyond temporary financial loans by investing directly in Pakistan’s industrial economy, infrastructure, and debt restructuring. In return, Pakistan can provide joint air-defense integration, deep military expertise, and a permanent security shield for the Kingdom’s vital infrastructure and sacred sites.
The portrait of the Crown Prince taking refuge in underground bunkers is a stark warning that time is running out. Saudi Arabia cannot secure its future by relying on patrons who benefit from its vulnerabilities. By awakening to the reality of Western betrayal, halting tragic regional conflicts, and uniting with proven Muslim partners like Pakistan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman can build an enduring shield one backed by the sacred devotion of the Muslim world and a shared commitment to lasting peace.
