Saudi Arabia dissing the US

President Bush enjoys hosting formal state dinners about as much as having a root canal. Or proposing tax increases. So his decision to schedule a mid-April White House gala for Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah signified the president's high regard for an Arab monarch who is also a Bush family friend.

Now the White House ponders what Abdullah's sudden and sparsely explained cancellation of the dinner signifies. Nothing good -- especially for Condoleezza Rice's most important Middle East initiatives -- is the clearest available answer.

Abdullah's bowing out of the April 17 event is, in fact, one more warning sign that the Bush administration's downward spiral at home is undermining its ability to achieve its policy objectives abroad. Friends as well as foes see the need, or the chance, to distance themselves from the politically besieged Bush.

Seems the timing was inconvenient, no big deal right. Then this:

The king of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, condemned the presence of American forces in Iraq as an “illegitimate foreign occupation” in a speech today, and said the withholding of aid to Palestinians should end.

The king’s speech, at the opening of the Arab League summit here, appeared to distance his country’s position from that of the United States. Saudi Arabia has been a powerful Arab ally to the United States in the Persian Gulf region.

The speech was wide-ranging, but in referring to the Palestinians and the conflict in Iraq he touched on two of the biggest issues in the Middle East. “In our dear Iraq, the blood is spilling between our brothers in light of an illegitimate foreign occupation,” he said.

src1: www.washingtonpost.com...

src2: www.nytimes.com...

Saudi Arabia has been a staunch ally of the US for sometime now and the Royal family has maintained a healthy relationship with the Bush administration, so why the turn of events. This could have significant implications for the US as there may be be further falling out depending on how the white house interprets this message.

brill

[edit on 28-3-2007 by brill]

please the united states gets dissed by almost all its allies

Pakistan
Israel
saudi
and others

nothing new move along

Maybe the Saudis are fixing to switch to the Euro for oil trading too.
This wouldn't be prudent considering the current administrations feelings to all things Arab. Or Maybe they can see the handwriting on the wall of the looming Iran invasion by the US, in concert with the Israelis and are getting ready to forge alliances with the rest of the Arab states.


This isn't good!!


[edit on 28-3-2007 by whaaa]

The Saudis are the Kings of Backstabbing and deceit. Thats how they have attained and maintained their power. What bothers me is the US's very close military ties with the Saudi republic. We have billions invested in their jointly operated airfields /bases as well as play un paid security guard for them with many US military assets either in their country or at their disposal.
Hell They were so closely associated with the 911 bombers and their funds that the Saudis had to pay big $$$ to run"We are your friends" ads nationally for damage control. Also for a while the US gov could directly connect terrorist payments back to official Saudi Gov funds and ruling members. 5% percent of the Saudis are Uber Rich while the other 95% lives like peasants. No wonder Bush and the Saudi's see eye to eye. Hmm.

Relations have always been touchy with Saudi Arabia, but the Saudis know which side of their bread is buttered.

When your only source of revenue is oil, you think twice about alienating your biggest customer.

Still, the Saudi royal family has been consistent in their support of US interests and I wouldn't read too much into this situation at this time.

Clearly, with the economies of India and China growing by leaps and bounds, the US market becomes less important, but not insignificant.

While the cancellation of the dinner is fact, the rest of this article is opinion and it's accuracy is suspect.

Columnists really don't get much scrutiny when articles like this don't exactly pan out, so it should be taken with a grain of salt.

GW Bush is a lame duck and his influence is on the wane. There's nothing new or surprising about this phase of a presidency.

Here's an interesting development in Middle East relations:

abcnews.go.com...

[edit on 2007/3/28 by GradyPhilpott]

Grady I think you might be selling this short and some others as well. The US gets I believe 15-20% of their oil from Saudi Arabia. We've all seen how the price at the pumps can jolt and thats when relatively simple issues arise. Try taking away 15% of this product and see how well the prices work out. I'm not saying this will happen just a possible scenario. We both agree though that China could easily soak up the surplus given their staggering growth.

I think the bigger issue here is that Saudi Arabia is strategic for the US both economically and militarily. Having their King denounce the US for an 'illegitimate occupation" speaks volumes. I don't believe its lazy journalism , that was part of his speech. The message is clear and I agree with the other poster that the conversion to the Euro could also play a pivotal role if done.

Maybe this is why Haliburton is heading to Dubai instead

brill

[edit on 28-3-2007 by brill]

Mod edit: removed quote of previous post.
Quoting Etiquette – Please Review This Link.


[edit on 28-3-2007 by sanctum]

I also found those comments by King Abdullah to be of note today...if for no other reason than they illustrate the fragile, and seemingly contradictory status of US relationships in the ME.

Could Abdullah's hard line remarks have been inspired by the up-tick of Sunni slaughter in Iraq these past days?

BAGHDAD - Shiite militants and police enraged by deadly truck bombings went on a shooting rampage against Sunnis in a northwestern Iraqi city Wednesday, killing as many as 70 men execution-style and prompting fears that sectarian violence was spreading outside the capital.

Full text: /36z5co


With the failure of the Bretton Woods Accord, and OPEC's subsequent agreement to restrict the sale of oil to US Dollar denominated transactions...essentially rescuing the Dollar, and stalling a US recessionary free-fall...I believe that US dependency on Saudi Arabia as a leading OPEC nation, is greater than many realize.

The US gets an economic essential: US denominated petrodollars...The Saudis receive US military protection. Sweet deal I guess, but as anti-American sentiment builds amongst Arab nations...who really holds the leverage here...and just how far is the US prepared to push it's agenda in the region..

Peace &
Good Fortune
OBE1

Originally posted by brill
Having their King denounce the US for an 'illegitimate occupation" speaks volumes.

I wouldn't expect the King to describe the US occupation of Iraq any other way.

The only reason coalition forces didn't march all the way to Baghdad during Desert Storm was because of our Middle East allies, who were afraid of the long range implications of such a move.

The very fact that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt are making overtures to Israel and that Israel is responding is encouraging regardless of the wording.

It is also noteworthy that Arab leaders are taking responsibility for the factionalism that is tearing apart nations such as Lebanon and Iraq.

Of course, there could be a downside to too much cooperation among Arab states, but the ostensible objective of peace is admirable and noteworthy.

UAE says no

"In a week of ominous developments, the most serious being the Iranian seizure of 15 British Navy personnel near the Shatt al Arab waterway that divides Iran and Iraq, a statement by UAE President Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan that his country would not allow its territories for operations against Iran assumes high significance."

"In a major policy statement on the eve of Arab summit in Riyadh, Shaikh Khalifa disclosed that the UAE had sent a written communication to Iran to assure that 'we shall never allow the use of our soil for any military, security or intelligence activities against them'."

Full text: /38pfuj


Peace &
Good fortune
OBE1