Playing out this week, before Pres. Obama travels to the Muslim world, is Mahmoud Abbas coming to the White House. Eric Alterman talks about the weakness of Abbas, which is an understatement. But considering Israel has done all they can to weaken him it’s no wonder. Bush was no help either. Pres. Obama would do well to strengthen Mr. Abbas’ credibility, which is part of what’s going on today. It’s actually in Israel’s interest too, something they should have thought about a long time ago.
As for Pres. Obama’s trip next week, it now looks quite different.
Obama will stop first in Saudi Arabia, not Egypt, with Cairo the next stop where he will give his speech, the actual location supposed to be a secret, with Cairo University looking like the place. But as for Saudi being Obama’s first stop, this is a big development.
The Arab media is buzzing today over the announcement that President Obama will travel to Riyadh before arriving in Cairo for his big address to the Islamic world. Why the late addition to his itinerary?
… The Egyptians had been making much hay off of Obama’s choice of Cairo for the speech, arguing that this vindicated Egypt’s (deeply unpopular) foreign policy and signaled Egypt’s return to the forefront of Arab leadership. This seeming support for Egypt’s (deeply unpopular) foreign policy was one of the reasons for my reservations about the choice of locale in the first place, although as with everything it depends on whether Obama endorses or challenges that approach in his speech. With the Saudis now the American President’s first port of call, the Egyptian claim to renewed leadership is weaker.
After that inter-Arab rivalry business, Arabs are trying to puzzle out the greater political significance of the trip. …
Could it be that Pres. Obama listened to Zbigniew Brzezinski and others like him? People who have been talking a lot about the importance of having Saudi Arabia as a major player in any Middle East process.
Mr. Brzezinski said in the Saudi conference I attended that an alliance with Saudi Arabia is critical to Middle East equilibrium. From the live Twitter reporting at that event:
9:33:10 AM: Zbig: We need a real US/SA alliance for peace. –applause in the room–
9:35:43 AM: Zbig: two parties can’t solve MidEast peace; US needs to frame, w/ SA, who can help. Window is closing.
From what I can discern from the experts, people who have traveled in the region and know it extensively (yes, I’m jealous of that status), Saudi Arabia’s role in moving the Israeli-Palestinian issue forward cannot be underestimated.
Looks like Obama’s not only getting it intellectually, but is willing to put his clout forward in political capital, spent through picking his spots very strategically.
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