Obama will make a rare trip to visit sometimes difficult ally in Saudi Arabia
Source: Washington Post
President Obama will seek to strengthen a strained relationship with America's long-time ally Saudi Arabia by visiting the kingdom for a summit with gulf Arab leaders on April 21.
The president will also be traveling to Germany and the United Kingdom during the trip, but his visit to Saudi Arabia is likely to draw the most attention. Obama has been a frequent critic of the Saudi monarchy and at times has seemed to question whether a government that helps to spread a harsh and rigid interpretation of Islam should be counted as a true ally of the United States. The Saudis, meanwhile, have quietly expressed unease that Obama has been too accommodating of Iran.
Last spring Obama invited the Saudis and other Gulf Arab nations to Camp David where he pledged new American support to help them defend against Iranian missile strikes and cyber attacks.
The meeting, which followed Obama's agreement with Iran to prevent it from being able to build a nuclear bomb, was notable in part for the absence of Saudi Arabia's King Salman who had expressed conern over the negotiations. Only two of the six gulf nations sent their top leaders. In a recent interview with the Atlantic magazine Obama did little to ease Saudi fears that the United States might be reconsidering its steadfast support for the Saudi monarchy and tilting toward a less combative relationship with Iran.
<more>
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/16/obama-will-make-a-rare-trip-to-visit-sometimes-difficult-ally-in-saudi-arabia/
= new reply since forum marked as read