Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Trying To Repair The U.S. - Saudi Alliance

Saudi King recieves U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 22, 2015. (SPA)

Josh Rogin, Bloomberg: U.S. Scrambles to Repair Damaged Saudi Ties

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will soon head to Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to increase cooperation in the war against the Islamic State. But there’s little indication he will be able to restore a vital relationship that's become riven with distrust in the last year, which would require him to reassure the Saudis on the very nature of the U.S. commitment to the kingdom and the region.

Carter is slated to meet on April 20 in Riyadh with Mohammed Bin Salman al Saud, the 30-year-old deputy crown prince and defense minister who is widely believed to be in contention to succeed his father, King Salman. Carter’s visit will come one day ahead of President Barack Obama’s stop there for a leaders’ summit between the U.S. and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a follow-on to their meeting at Camp David last May.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: The Saudis are reacting (and positioning themselves) in the same manner that most of America's allies in the world are now doing .... they are waiting for the departure of President Obama and the inauguration of a new U.S. President.

1 comment:

War News Updates Editor said...

Jay. I agree with you on the Andrew Byasivich post. I had already posted it for 22:00. (Your Patrick Armstrong link from yesterday is my midnight post).