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Page added on December 28, 2013
Saudis: ‘We have been stabbed in back by Obama’
Arabs don’t trust Obama either.
As 2013 ends, President Obama has lost credibility with many people who trusted him at the start of the year. Thanks to the Healthcare.gov debacle, polls find support for the president among women and independents has dropped to the lowest ebb of his presidency. Obama’s words — promising Americans they could keep their doctors under his health care plan — didn’t match his deeds.
Surprisingly, the same thing is happening on the other side of the world among Arabs in the Middle East and for the same reason.
Too often, Obama’s speeches and actions don’t match.
“We are glad the Americans are here,” said Ahmed al-Ibrahim, an adviser to some of Saudi Arabia’s royals and officials, when I met with him recently, “but we fear that the president has lost credibility after Syria.”
Astonished Saudi officials are contrasting Obama’s quick actions in South Sudan with his unwillingness to act in places like Syria or in Bahrain.
The Saudi official is referring to Obama’s “red line” vow of military action if the Syrian dictator Bashir Assad used chemical weapons against his own people. Assad did and Obama didn’t. Saudi officials were stunned.
Next came the revelation earlier this year that Obama was secretly negotiating with Iran, the mortal enemy of both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Officials in both nations have told me that they simply don’t believe that the president can sweet-talk the mullahs out of the weapons they have coveted for years.
“The bond of trust between America and Saudi Arabia has been broken in the Obama years,” al-Ibrahim said. “We feel we have been stabbed in the back by Obama.”
“Every time that Obama had to choose between his enemies and his friends, he always chose his enemies,” he said. “We don’t know what he’s putting in his tea.”
Al-Ibrahim also pointed to Obama’s “dangerous inaction” during violent Iran-backed uprisings in Bahrain, and now his negotiations with Iran, and his separate, secret negotiations with Iran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah. Since American officials cannot legally negotiate with terrorist groups and Hezbollah is a State Department-listed terror organization, the administration has been using British diplomats to carry messages to Hezbollah. The Obama administration reportedly favors a “warm up to a direct relationship in the future” with Hezbollah.
Obama is sending conflicting messages. In Washington, the president says negotiations are all we need to meet the Iranian threat. He issued a rare veto threat to try to halt tougher sanctions against Iran.
At the same time, in the Middle East, the president has dispatched more than 40 U.S. Navy vessels (including a carrier-strike group) and sent his secretary of defense to detail America’s vast military assets in the region.
Speaking to Arab defense ministers, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel itemized America’s military commitment to immediately respond to Iranian aggression:
• More than 35,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in the theater;
• Even after exiting Iraq, the U.S. Army maintains more than 10,000 forward-deployed soldiers as well as tanks, artillery, and attack helicopters;
• America’s most advanced fighter jets, including F-22s, are deployed less than an hour’s flight time from Iran;
• American surveillance aircraft, ground listening stations, satellites, and sea patrols continue to scan for threats across the region;
• America’s missile defense systems–on ground, sea, and air–remain on high alert. That includes the U.S. Navy’s ballistic missile defense ships, Patriot missile batteries, and phased-array radars.
“The Department of Defense will work with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on better integration of its members’ missile defense capabilities. The United States continues to believe that a multilateral framework is the best way to develop interoperable and integrated regional missile defense. Such defenses are the best way to deter and, if necessary, defeat coercion and aggression,” Hagel told the Gulf News on Dec.18.
With little fanfare, Obama has also quietly lifted the ban on selling sensitive missile-defense technology to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies living within reach of Iran’s new Shahab-3 missiles. The Shahab-3’s range is 1,242 miles–placing Israel and most of America’s Arab allies within striking distance.
However, Obama’s quiet efforts to provide new missile defenses and renewed security guarantees may be too little, too late.
The Saudis are now seeking their own military arrangements because they no longer trust the U.S. The GCC, a regional alliance of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, recently announced the creation of a joint military force based in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
“There will be a unified command of around 100,000 members, God willing,” Prince Miteb bin Abdullah told reporters. This new force represents a massive expansion of the 30,000-strong Peninsula Shield force.
“We no longer believe that America alone can safeguard our freedom from Iranian aggression,” said al-Ibrahim, “that’s why we are expanding our forces and integrating our missile defenses with our neighbors.”
He added, “the world should understand that the GCC will not stay quiet and leave our member-states vulnerable to bad actors and bad deals in the region. It is our duty to protect our region.”
And now, astonished Saudi officials are contrasting Obama’s quick actions last weekend in South Sudan with his unwillingness to act in places like Syria or in Bahrain where thousands of U.S. troops and the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet are based.
“The president has shown that he can take action when he chooses to. He chose not to act after the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but as soon as things started to go wrong in South Sudan, Obama jumped on it,” said al-Ibrahim.
On Saturday, Obama dispatched three CV-22 Osprey aircraft, the sort that can fly like an airplane and an helicopter, to South Sudan to evacuate Americans caught in ongoing violence in the city of Bor. The aircraft came under small arms fire and were forced to retreat as they attempted to land. Four U.S. service members were injured in the attempted evacuation. American citizens were rescued successfully on Sunday using civilian and U.N. helicopters.
In his June 4, 2009 Cairo speech, the first American president raised in a Muslim land came to offer a bold promise: “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.” Four and a half years later, Arab leaders like al-Ibrahim say that “mutual interest” is sundered and “mutual respect” squandered.
If the Saudi exasperation sounds familiar, it is because it is the same tone you hear in Tel Aviv and in Washington.
16 Comments on "Saudis: ‘We have been stabbed in back by Obama’"
DC on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 12:01 am
LoL!
Makati1 on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 12:46 am
Preparing for a religious war in the Middle East. It gets more and more interesting. AND is a great market for the only thing the Empire exports today, weapons and war.
yellowcanoe on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 12:48 am
It’s absolutely outrageous that Saudi Arabia would expect the United States to expend its wealth and blood trying to fix Syria. If it is important to Saudi Arabia they can bloody well send their own troops!
DC on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 1:06 am
But yellowcanoe, the name of the regime-change game these days is *not* to send your own. Not only does that tip your hand, but also quickly leads to conventional warfare involving well, just about everyone. Much better to have your spooks maintain a stable of free-lance mercenaries to do your plausibly-deniable dirty work. Thats why the US and the sauds use salafist mercenaries to open up these un-declared wars of theirs….
The Sauds only worry about Syria because there US\Israeli masters worry about them. The average Saudi has no axe to grind with the Syrian people.
Even reading this Faux news garbage makes my head hurt.
Bob Inget on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 1:24 am
Fox is playing a dangerous game here.
When FOX undermines the president in another one of these editorials doctored to look like straight news, FOX is going on record supporting THE Most Repressive
regime in the entire Mideast.
If you doubt that, read the above again, tell me I’m wrong.
Shelf lives of KSA and FOX shorten every month. Remember the boys and girls at FOX were calling Saudis “Rag Heads” before that saw a chance to get in digs at the President of the United States.
Some may recall how many black soldiers
in Vietnam remarked; ‘no VC ever called me a N…..’
babumai on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 2:35 am
It does not disappoint me if a country with very few values in common with us is unhappy with our policy.
Jimmy on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 5:32 am
Nations don’t have friends they have interests. For Fox News to suggest otherwise is naive.
Arthur on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 9:19 am
In a weird sense the Saudi’s are right about Obama having lost his credibility in Syria. Here the most recent report from the great Canadian James Corbett summarizing what really took place in Syria over the past 8 years:
http://youtu.be/0KFpaU9PC8o
The US instigated this fake civil war in order to hurt Iran as well Russia/China. But then it realized (a little late) that it was busy handing over the ME to the fundamentalists, something SA, Qatar, Turkey and Morsi loved to see happening and the US retreated from Syria. After all, the only thing that really counts for the US is Israel (because the latter owns the former). But meanwhile, due to the actions of the US since 2003, the formerly sleeping divide between Sunnis and Shi’tes has been radicalized and now SA has to fear that it is going to suffer the same fate as Iraq, namely that the Shi’ite provinces of SA will aspire to become part of the Iranian sphere of influence and taking most of the Saudi oil and gas with it, which would be only good news for the camel business, but little else. Meanwhile Iran foolishly has announced it wants to enrich to 60% after all and now all the ingredients for a major conflict in the ME are present. If a war between SA and Iran will break out, this would halt all shipping from the Gulf, with terrible consequences for Europe and China.
Stilgar on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 9:21 am
Agree Bob. Fox simply reacts in the opposite direction to Obama in all cases regardless of common sense, in an effort to move the needle towards the R candidate for the next prez election.
The Saudi’s have a lot of nerve particularly regarding Syria. For anybody with a memory, the Russians sent numerous naval ships into the same area as US naval ships. It quickly turned into a stalemate, but out of it the US through the Russians got an agreement for Assad to remove WMD. That was a big deal.
It’s unfortunate what is happening to the Syrian people, but it gets chalked up to not going up against another super power.
Regarding the Saudi’s; In the words of the Sundance Kid to Butch, “Yeah, and you are all mouth!”
PrestonSturges on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 4:11 pm
Oh wow we disappointed the people who still fund Al Qaeda, who gave us the Bin laden family, who paid for 9-11, and who flew the planes into the World Trade Center? We should turn Saudi Arabia into a puddle of radioactive glass in the desert.
Bob Inget on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 8:26 pm
Preston Sturges, you are falling into a trap set by our P.O. Editors and publisher. Like a cat attacking the stuffed mouse dangled by its human feeder. That cat KNOWS the difference between a real and fake mouse but, it also knows it needs to act like a real cat.
Surely You know the difference between diplomacy and ‘collective punishment’
as practiced by Nazi Germany,present day Israeli government and Islamic terrorists.
Bob Inget on Sun, 29th Dec 2013 10:25 pm
Betcha FOX won’t mention KSA’s “War on New Years”
Saudi Arabia’s religious police has warned against celebrating New Year’s Eve in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom, the local Okaz daily reported.
The Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, known unofficially as mutawa, based its warning on a religious edict from the top committee of Saudi clerics banning such celebrations, the newspaper said on Sunday.
The Commission also warned Saudi gift shops not to sell any merchandise, including flowers and dolls.
Saudi Arabia follows the Muslim lunar calendar, unlike all other Gulf states that use the Gregorian calendar.
Members of the commission enforce the kingdom’s rule of strict segregation between sexes. They also go around shops to make sure they are shuttered during prayer times.
The religious police have been accused of abusing their powers. But since January last year, they have become more discreet with the appointment of their new chief, cleric Abdulatif bin Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, who banned the use of unmarked cars.
Mutawa also traditionally banned the sale of red roses and gifts for Valentine’s Day on February 14.
The warning against celebrations stood in stark contrast to preparations for New Year’s in Dubai in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates.
Dubai has promised to celebrate the night with a record-breaking extravaganza featuring more than 400,000 fireworks,
Makati1 on Mon, 30th Dec 2013 12:59 am
Fox is owned by Rupert Murdock, who also owns the Wall Street Journal, 30+ radio stations and 3 cable networks, not to mention many outside the US. He is a strong Israeli supporter and supported B.O. for the Presidency. A member of the Council of Foreign Relations, and on and on. If you think his news outlets do anything but support the Ministry of Propaganda, you are mistaken. He is another of the old (82) men ruining the world for his fun and profit. He will likely be dead before the SHTF.
PrestonSturges on Mon, 30th Dec 2013 6:25 am
“,….Fox is owned by Rupert Murdock, who also owns the Wall Street Journal, 30+ radio stations and 3 cable networks, not to mention many outside the US….”
Fox’s (Newscorp) biggest stockholder is the Saudis, and Murdock’s biggest foreign venture is an Arabic network that carries rabid death-to-the-jews propaganda.
GregT on Mon, 30th Dec 2013 8:10 am
“Murdock’s biggest foreign venture is an Arabic network that carries rabid death-to-the-jews propaganda.”
Hmmm, sound familiar? History does repeat itself, humans tend to do the same things over and over. When they work……..
PrestonSturges on Tue, 31st Dec 2013 6:47 pm
Bengahzi!!!!
Fox works hand in hand with Al Qaeda using terrorism to undermine the US government.