A senior Saudi prince has criticized US President Barack Obama for calling the Arab kingdom a “free rider” on American policies.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Atlantic published on Thursday, Obama had condemned the oil-rich monarchy for being “free riders” on American policy while promoting religious intolerance in the Middle East and refusing to get along with regional powers such as Iran.
In response to the remarks, Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and ex-ambassador to Washington and London, hit out at Obama with an open letter.
“No, Mr. Obama. We are not ‘free riders’,” wrote Faisal, citing the Riyadh regime’s support for militants fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Faisal also claimed that Riyadh is fighting terrorists in Yemen and has provided intelligence that has “prevented deadly terrorist attacks on America.”
However, he did not offer any explanation as to why his country has been expanding…