|
Trending Topics
|
Saudi Arabia Blames America for the Turmoil in Egypt
(Daily Beast) Bruce Riedel - In a scathing statement, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah urged Muslims to stand behind the Egyptian Army in fighting terrorism and extremism. Speaking in sorrow, Abdullah blamed outsiders ignorant of Arabism, Islam, and Egypt for senseless interference in the politics of the Arab world's most populous state. Clearly referring to President Obama's decision two years ago to push for Hosni Mubarak's ouster, the king suggested Washington played with fire and has now been burned. The Saudis don't want an open break with Washington, so their critique is indirect. Riyadh still wants to work with Washington on Iran, al-Qaeda, Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, and other issues. The Saudis value an alliance that dates back to 1945. But the alliance has always been based on shared threat assessments - not shared values. The writer is a senior foreign policy fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.