we must understand how deeply the Saudis humiliated Obama today by sending a lower-ranking official --- delusion noted.
sorry that you don't have any other enemies besides isis to kill or die for today. On Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 2:27:23 PM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > CONTEXT: In the Middle East, actions speak louder than words. Direct > verbal confrontation is frowned upon, so we must look to actions to > understand what message people wish to convey. > > > It is in this context that we must understand how deeply the Saudis > humiliated Obama today by sending a lower-ranking official > > (See: > abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/obama-lands-saudi-arabia-talks-gulf-allies-38532885 > ) > > Protocol would demand that the King to greet Obama, because Obama is a > fellow Head of State. > > > > Thus, the Saudis signaled that they are humiliating Obama, both to the > Middle East and the Muslim world in general. No words are necessary. > Everyone there got the message. > > NOTE: I wonder whether the American officials responsible for Saudi > Affairs understood this as a insult. After all so much seems to go over > their heads. > > > > > > Obama Meets With King Salman at Start of Saudi Arabia Visit > > - By kathleen hennessey and adam schreck, associated press > > RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Apr 20, 2016, 9:48 AM ET > > - > > > - > > President Barack Obama opened a brief trip to Saudi Arabia > <http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/saudi-arabia.htm> on Wednesday with a > one-on-one meeting with King Salman in Riyadh. The visit for a Persian Gulf > summit comes against the backdrop of increasingly strained U.S. relations > with the Saudis, who remain deeply opposed to his outreach to Iran and > skeptical of his approach to Syria. > > Under crystal chandeliers, the Saudi monarch greeted Obama in a grand > foyer at Erga Palace, where the two walked slowly to a reception room as > the small of incense wafted. The two offered polite smiles as they sat down > side by side for pictures at the start of their two-hour private meeting. > > "The American people send their greetings and we are very grateful for > your hospitality, not just for this meeting but for hosting the GCC-U.S. > summit that's taking place tomorrow," Obama said, referring to the > six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council summit. > > King Salman offered similarly gracious words for the president, who is > paying his fourth trip here for face-to-face meetings and photos with royal > rulers since becoming president. > > "The feeling is mutual between us and the American people," the king said > through a translator. > > The president was slated to spend little more than 24 hours in the Saudi > capital before heading on to visits to London and Hannover, Germany. > > In addition to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates > <http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/united-arab-emirates.htm>, Qatar, > Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are participating in the regional summit, which > the White House said would focus on regional stability, counterterrorism > including the fight against the Islamic State and al-Qaida, and Iran. Talks > are also expected to address the Saudi-led military campaign against Shiite > rebels and their allies in neighboring Yemen. > > U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and CIA Director John Brennan were among > the officials accompanying Obama. Carter, meeting with defense ministers > from the Gulf nations Wednesday, pressed them to provide more economic and > political support to Iraq in a preview of themes Obama was expected to > emphasize. > > Stepping off of Air Force One earlier at King Khalid International > Airport, Obama was greeted not by King Salman but by a lower-ranking royal, > Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, the governor of Riyadh. Ahead of Obama's > arrival, Saudi state television showed the king personally greeting senior > officials from other Gulf nations arriving at the King Salman Air Base. > > Mustafa Alani, a security analyst at the Gulf Research Center, said the > Saudi decision not to dispatch a high-level delegation to greet the > president was unusual and intended to send a clear message that they have > little faith in him. > > "He will find a leadership that's not ready to believe him," Alani said. > "The Saudis had disagreements with previous presidents. Here you have deep > distrust that the president won't deliver anything." > > U.S. officials have expressed hope the latest meeting will build on last > year's Camp David summit, though they acknowledge differences remain > between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. > > Obama's recent comment that the Saudis and Iranians should "share the > neighborhood" roiled officials in Riyadh. > > The Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom — the world's biggest oil exporter and the > largest buyer of American-made weapons — sees Shiite-led Iran as its main > rival. Saudi leaders are concerned that concessions granted to Iran in last > year's nuclear deal will embolden it to pursue what the Saudis view as > aggressive meddling throughout the region. > > Salman's reign has overseen a more assertive foreign policy, with Saudis > venturing into Yemen and pushing the U.S. to take more aggressive moves to > overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad. Saudi Arabia and Iran back > opposing sides in Syria's civil war and in the Yemen conflict, where the > U.S. military is providing refueling and other logistical help to the > Saudi-led war effort. > > Ahead of Obama's trip, a group of U.S. senators called on the president to > press Saudi Arabia on human rights issues and raise the cases of two > imprisoned advocates, blogger Raif Badawi and a man who defended him, > rights activist Waleed Abu al-Khair. In early January, Saudi Arabia put 47 > people to death including a prominent Shiite cleric in its largest mass > execution in years, triggering an angry reaction in Iran. > > Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's defense > minister, said ahead of Obama's visit that the Gulf and the U.S. must work > together to confront challenges including terrorism, instability and what > he described as Iranian interference into regional countries' affairs. > > Obama's trip follows an unusually robust string of high-profile U.S. > visits to the Gulf states. Vice President Joe Biden > <http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/whitehouse/joe-biden.htm> last month > visited the United Arab Emirates, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry > earlier this month was in nearby Bahrain. > > Obama himself traveled to Saudi Arabia only last year shortly after the > death of former King Abdullah, Salman's predecessor and half-brother. > > ——— > > Schreck reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer > Abdullah al-Shihri in Riyadh contributed to this report. > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmMTJrNjkxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NjExNzUzMzE-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! 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