What about the US's Arab friends ?

Submitted by jon, a Brit in Euroland (France), May 18, 2009 at 03:58

While the options for the meeting are laid out very claerly by Mr. Pipes, there is an issue which he has not touched on, and which could have major impact: The positions taken by Saudi and Egypt.

These countries seem to be highly sceptical of anything which might reinforce Iranian ("Persian") influence. With the manifestly unsecessful attempt to get the Arab Gulf to put money into the US, probably due to the extreme discomfort with a future nuclear Iran, ears must be tickling in Washington.

Presently the US is in hock to China, and the other Asian countries. While it is obviously nice to have their money in the bank, the lack of diversification of the financing of the US economy is worrying.

The posiiton of the Arab countries as the low cost producers of oil cannot be ignored in the world, and thus even in Washington.

The objective similarity of view, which is a long way from an alliance, but further from an implacable hostlity must give Obama cause to reflect.

I do feel that things are a whole lot less dangerous for a break in US/Israeli relations than the one on one analysis would suggest.

What does Mr. Pipes, as the expert in this area feel on the issue of the deeply disturbed Saudi/Gulf leaders, and on the extrme discomfort of the Egyptian leadershp, looking down the Hamas/Muslim brotherhood/Iran barrel, at the same time as the Mubarak leadership is preparing generational change?

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