Saudi Arabia Says King Won't Attend Meetings In the U.S.

The article “Saudi Arabia says King won’t attend meetings in the U.S.” was one that I found particularly interesting. The main topic of the article is how Saudi Arabia’s King, King Salman, wasn’t going to be attending a meeting with President Obama this week, and instead, sent someone else to attend the meeting on the King’s behalf. The author of the article believes that this was Saud Arabia’s way of showing the United States that they are unhappy about to continuing negotiations with Iran. Saudi Arabia and Iran do not get along, so naturally Saudi Arabia is upset about the U.S. entering into a deal with Iran, in which Iran could possibly develop nuclear capabilities. One piece of information I found interesting, is that King Salman initially said he would attend the meeting in the U.S., but then decided not to go. It is a strong realization for the Obama administration when the King of Saudi Arabia decides he has better things to do, then meet with the President of the U.S. to discuss foreign policy. A White House spokesperson responded to this incident by saying they had spoken with Saudi Arabia, and that this was not a “Snub”. “If one wants to snub you, they let you know it in different ways” the white house spokesperson said. All in all, there seems to be a growing perception in the White House that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are friends, but not allies, and that the U.S. and Iran are allies, but not friends. That was an interesting perspective to take on this whole situation.

By Josh Hubbs

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-king-wont-attend-camp-david-meeting.html?ref=topics&_r=0&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Middle%20East&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article