Looks like President Obama’s bow to the king of Saudi Arabia only convinced the former that the latter considers himself subservient. Because now the King has issued orders to the President.
The London Times reports:
Saudi Arabia has threatened to prop up President Mubarak if the White House tries to force a swift change of regime in Egypt.
In a testy personal telephone call on January 29, King Abdullah told President Obama not to humiliate Mr Mubarak and warned that he would step in to bankroll Egypt if the US withdrew its aid programme, worth $1.5 billion annually.
America’s closest ally in the Gulf made clear that the Egyptian President must be allowed to stay on to oversee the transition towards peaceful democracy and then leave with dignity.
“Mubarak and King Abdullah are not just allies, they are close friends, and the King is not about to see his friend cast aside and humiliated,” a senior source in the Saudi capital told The Times.
Two sources confirmed details of the King’s call, made four days after the people of Egypt took to the streets. The revelation of Saudi concerns sheds new light on America’s apparent diplomatic paralysis and lays bare the biggest rift between the nations since the oil price shock of 1973…
“With Egypt in chaos, the kingdom is Washington’s only major ally left in the Arab world and the Saudis want the Americans to remember that,” said a source in Riyadh.
Well, that’s where the Saudis are wrong. They apparently haven’t heard about President Obama’s magnificent Cairo speech. You know, the one that convinced everyone in the Muslim world to love us. From what we hear it was very effective and we are universally adored in the region.
So put that in your hookah and smoke it, Abdullah.
Source: Times of London
