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The Hill
US at odds with
Middle East friends
By Justin Sink
The United States is at odds with its three most important allies in
the Middle East, raising fundamental questions about the White House’s
ability to shape regional events as President Obama arrives in Riyadh
on Friday.
Under Obama, a chill has settled on the U.S. relationships with Saudi
Arabia and Israel, which both opposed U.S. efforts to reach a nuclear
accord with Iran. And in Egypt, Obama has an uncertain partner, given
the toppling of two governments since 2010.
“A few years ago, with great clarity, you would certainly say
Washington’s closest partners included Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt,”
said Simon Henderson, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near
East policy. “But they are at odds with all of them for one reason or
another.”
No one thinks U.S. influence in the Middle East is over as a result of
the tensions, but Obama has some fence-mending to do to augment
American power.
Experts say Obama doesn’t have the strong personal relationships past
U.S. presidents shared with leaders of the three crucial U.S. regional
allies.
“I don't think it’s unique to this part of the world, but it is true of
this part of the world — these interpersonal relationships are
important to diplomacy,” said Tamara Wittes, director of the Saban
Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute. “The
president hasn’t traveled a lot … so this is a very important
opportunity to forge stronger interpersonal relationships at the top
level.”
Obama’s relationship with Israel’s leaders is fraught with tension.
Democrats openly worried that Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu
would meddle in the 2012 presidential election, and earlier this month,
Israel’s defense minister apologized for a speech that criticized
Obama’s foreign policy as weak.
Some observers have argued the U.S.-Saudi relationship has never been
worse.
In December, Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to Washington criticized
Obama, saying his country had seen “several red lines put forward by
the president, which went along and became pinkish as time grew, and
eventually ended up completely white.”
The criticisms emanated from U.S. reluctance to get involved in Syria’s
civil war and worries about Obama’s entreaties toward Iran.
In Riyadh, Obama will seek to reassure King Abdullah on both fronts.
Abdullah’s government has expressed concern that the initial deal with
Iran does not do enough to limit Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear
weapon, while the easing of economic sanctions will increase the
ability of Tehran to project its influence across the region...
Read the rest of the article at The Hill
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