The president began a six day trip to strategize with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, England and Germany on a broad range of issues with efforts to rein in the Islamic State group being the common denominator in all three stops. The two offered polite smiles as they sat down side by side for pictures before starting their private two-hour meeting in a reception room.
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The American president’s visit is already likely to be tense.
Nevertheless, President Barack Obama told Saudi King Salman that America is “grateful” to Saudi Arabia.
Carter asked the Gulf countries to help with the reconstruction of the cities of Ramadi and Hit as well as Anbar province, areas that have been won back from IS militants but were left in near-shambles.
White House officials say the assistance will include a simplified process for transferring defense capabilities to Gulf nations, plans to boost the GCC’s ballistic defense missile defense system and increased defense against cyber threats.
For all the crosscurrents buffetting U.S.-Saudi relations, analysts and former officials say the two countries aren’t at the end of a love affair so much as in an unhappy marriage in which both sides, for better or worse, are stuck with each other. But the Sunni leaders want to wait until they see more political improvements in Baghdad and greater participation and aid for the Sunni population before they agree to do more.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday for a Persian Gulf summit, he will be met by leaders roiled by his recent public complaints about global “free riders” and harboring deep distrust of his dealings with Iran and his posture in Syria.
Even more eyebrow-raising in Riyadh, the president argued the Saudis and Iran “need to find an effective way to share the neighborhood and institute some sort of cold peace” – an insult to the Saudis who view Tehran as a bitter, destabilizing foe. But when President Barack Obama arrived today, he was greeted not by the king but by a lower-ranking royal.
“I and the Saudi people are very pleased that you Mr President are visiting us”, King Salman said. His plan is to meet with Saudi King Salman, as well as with many other Gulf leaders.
Mustafa Alani, a senior adviser to the Gulf Research Center, said Obama’s presidency has been “100 percent negative” for the region, a legacy of “keeping his distance”.
“We have worked closely with the Saudis and the Emiratis and other GCC partners to shut down ISIL’s efforts to finance their operations”, he said using another acronym for the IS. The attention in the USA on the withheld pages comes as Congress debates legislation that would allow the families to sue Saudi Arabia. The official was not authorized to discuss the issues publicly ahead of the meeting, so spoke on condition of anonymity.
He hopes the talks in Riyadh will concentrate on the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group of Sunni extremists, and how to end the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
“If we open up the possibility that individuals and the United States can routinely start suing other governments, then we are also opening up the United States to being continually sued by individuals in other countries”, he told CBS’s Charlie Rose.
Speaking Wednesday at the GCC Defense Ministerial at Diriyah Palace in Riyadh, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said the United States and GCC nations were “building on that strong partnership” that has lasted for decades.
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The ministers also reaffirmed ways that their militaries can work more together, including in training, exercises and missions with their special operations and naval forces.
