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Obama Becoming Global Joke? King Of Bahrain Snubs US President, Meets Horse Instead
Having been 'snubbed' by the new Saudi King Salman, it appears the uneasy relationshipo with our 'allies' in The Gulf is ebbing. In what the State Department will, we are sure, just brush off, Politico reports that the king of Bahrain has apparently also snubbed President Barack Obama, preferring instead to attend a horse show with Queen Elizabeth.
Obama had invited the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations - Bahrain, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - to discuss regional security and other issues at a Camp David summit this week; but with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia missing, it appears the discussion will be short.
According to Reuters, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has elected to attend the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which begins Wednesday, at Windsor Castle outside London.
Obama had invited the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations — Bahrain, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — to discuss regional security and other issues at a Camp David summit this week.
But Saudi King Salman announced Sunday that he would send a surrogate instead of attending himself, joining the leaders of the UAE and Oman, who have cited health concerns in their decisions not to attend. The Bahraini king’s decision not to attend was reported earlier this week, though his trip to the United Kingdom was first announced Wednesday.
Analysts have pointed to a growing rift between the Obama administration and the Gulf’s Sunni states over the emerging nuclear deal with Iran as a chief reason for the snub, though the Saudi king, as well as his Bahraini counterpart, have denied such assertions.
Bahrain’s official news agency reported that the country’s foreign minister identified the horse show and subsequent meeting with the queen as “a longstanding prior engagement” that necessitated the king’s absence from the Camp David summit.
The leader of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met with the English royal at the Royal Ascot horse race but elected to fly to Washington to attend the meeting with Obama afterward.
The U.S. may be seeking a rapprochement with Iran over its nuclear program, potentially ending several decades of hostility, but as OilPrice noted yesterday, while the U.S. is extending an open hand to Iran, other countries in the Middle East are casting a wary eye towards the negotiations...
In fact, it is starting to appear that Gulf Arab states could be a major impediment to a final agreement over Iran’s nuclear program. Led by Saudi Arabia, many of the oil-producing members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are skeptical of, if not downright hostile towards Iran. With little trust between Iran and its Arab neighbors, it will be hard to get all of the Middle East on board for an agreement. On this, GCC states find themselves in the same camp as Israel.
The Obama administration surely thought it could get countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to get behind a nuclear deal, owing to the fact that they are close allies of the United States.
But in a surprise move, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman decided not to attend a summit hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama in Camp David this week. As recently as May 8, Saudi Arabia confirmed that the King would attend the meeting, intended to assuage the security concerns of Gulf countries over the pending nuclear negotiations.
Ostensibly, the Saudi King is staying behind to monitor the security situation in Yemen, as the conflict enters a temporary cease-fire beginning on May 13. “There is zero tension,” a Saudi official reportedly said in an effort to downplay the significance of Saudi Arabia’s decision to blow off the Camp David event, according to the Washington Post. “In fact, the relationship is as strong as it has been in quite some time. Our understanding is that the Saudis and other GCC leaders are quite pleased with U.S. positions and the substance of Camp David, including any assistance we are going to provide.”
However, the New York Times reported that Saudi Arabia was disappointed with what the U.S. offered through Secretary of State John Kerry, when he met with the King in Riyadh last week. Saudi Arabia was apparently looking for a much stronger assurance of U.S. support, such as a defense treaty. The U.S., however, is not willing to go that far, which likely led to the Saudi King’s decision to cancel his trip to Camp David.
Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE will also not be sending their heads of state. Instead, the four Gulf nations will send deputies. Only the leaders of Kuwait and Qatar will attend.
Even worse, the Saudi government is reportedly mulling over the possibility of pursuing its own nuclear weapons program, precisely due to its security fears from Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 7 that Saudi officials feel that the 10-year restrictions on Iran’s uranium and centrifuge stockpile included in the framework agreement will not be enough to permanently block Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “We prefer a region without nuclear weapons. But if Iran does it, nothing can prevent us from doing it too, not even the international community,” Abdullah al Askar, a former top Saudi official on foreign affairs told WSJ.
Meanwhile, the Obama administration is also seeking to beef up the nuclear deal to counter criticism from Congressional opponents. U.S. negotiators are hoping to include provisions that automatically reinstate sanctions if Iran violates the terms of a deal, removing the need to go back to the UN for consensus, where Russia and China could block a return to sanctions.
What to make of all of this? The Obama administration has an increasingly small needle to thread. With boisterous opposition from Israel, Congressional Republicans, and now perhaps much of the GCC, the U.S. government is in a race against the clock to come to terms with Iran before the whole thing falls apart.
The one thing going for it is the fact that Iran itself is signaling its enthusiasm for a post-sanctions reality. The Iranian government is secretly courting western oil firms for investment, which could only be possible if a deal is reached. The same is true for a dramatic rise in oil production. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) projected its production would rise to 5 million barrels per day by 2020, up from 2.7 million barrels per day last year. Again, that will only be possible if Iran successfully attracts billions of dollars in new investment. The desire to see sanctions lifted could make Iran more amenable at the negotiating table.
But unless the U.S. can do more to make Saudi Arabia feel comfortable, the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – whose support the U.S. has stated will be critical – may undermine a comprehensive deal with Iran.
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Frenemies?
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Unhappy desert dwellers want a MEATO treaty where we guarantee their defense and we get the privilege of paying market price for oil, which means everyone else benefits.
Which will happen anyway when Iran starts flooding the market to recapture market share, driving oil lower. The camel jockeys aren't sitting in the catbird seat and calling the shots any longer and they don't like that.
The banksters have swiped so much money out of the system that they have changed the energy dynamic with financial repression.
This shit's getting real wobbly, almost like the wheels are coming off.
Lucky for us, we have the tanks to put in the streets.
You mean a METOO treaty.
Where have you been he has always been a joke.
Perhaps Bahrain king in this roundabout way also wants to state that even a quadrupedal animal like horse has more sense and intelligence than Murican Negro presidente, hm? ehehehe
Obama could not even show enough respect to the dead of WW2 to attend the Russian victory anniversary festivities. He deserves no respect.
Obama didn't go to Russia to celebrate victory over the Nazis in WW2 cause Putin would provide him with any male children sex toys.
Good 'click-bait' Tyler!
Replacing "is a joke" with "becoming a joke"
Joke or no joke, Fuck Fest Friday enroute to make new highs.
Becoming?
Poor Obama! The Saudis and gulf states hate him. The Israelis hate him. And the Iranians, who are seemingly the only people in the Middle East that he really cares about, also hate him.
If he isn't careful, the Saudis aren't going to donate millions to his charitable foundation when he leaves office.
+1e26
Hey you forgot me. I hate him too.
If he's a joke, why ain't I laughing?
Nobody is willing to sacrifice himself for Murica. Europeans considered Murica to their land, but not anymore. Negroes in Murica have always been parasites; and they have ever been looking for ways to hook themselves on Europeans and feed. Those are the manners of true parasites. But since Europeans in Murica are not willing to make sacrifices for "the greater good" of Murica as a whole (for those Negro too), shouldn't be long before Murica finally falls down. You know, sacrifices for the others only work when done for your own people, not for an assemble of vastly different races, ethnicities and cultures like in Murica today.
Oh yeah? That's rich coming from people who stole the land to begin with.
They conquered the land. Back then they were united as a people and would make sacrifices for one another. And thus they prospered. But since the 60s I think, all that has changed. Nowadays Europeans don't see Murica as their country anymore. Murica does not hold their values, beliefs, ethics and morals for them to consider Murica their land. That is what liberalism does to a country: it erases its identity, and then a country slowly dies. Solution is clear: there has to be a divorce between those groups of people that cannot coexist in some "united" forms. That is why borders and countries exist. Contrary to popular liberal-marxist belief, not all groups, races, ethnicities and their belonging cultures can be forced to live together. But I think you are not bright enough even to understand such a simple truth, hm? Judging by your reply to the subject I raised, I certainly think a possibility of you understanding something is a highly unlikely one. ehehehe
Yes, but which end of the horse was it?
"Obama Becoming Global Joke?"
And you ain't seen nuffin yet. Wait until you have Hilarious in the Wite House for the real worldwide laughs.
If you lie anddo the opposite of what you said you would do when running for president eventualy your hypocrisy catches up with you
what do you mean 'becoming'
he -is- a global joke along with the rest of the exceptional amis.
tic toc
John Kerry is in a show?
Horses do not lie when they open their mouth.
I know ISrael and Saudi Arabia are best friends..but I wonder how Israel would view Saudi Arabia having nuclear weapons?
Quite indifferently, although in public they might show concern. There is more to the connection between Israel and Saudi than just being best of friends methinks.
Becoming ???
IS !!! IS like in ISIS, for crying out loud.
There ought to be a great celebration throughout the world when great whore Babylon - the West - finally dies. The world has suffered tremendously by Anglosphere for the last couple of centuries. Since WW2 only Muricans have murdered over 30 million people and started over 80% of all armed conflicts on the planet. And that is only since WW2. But, god bless it, all that is ending at long last.
Dont forget though...we are exceptional
The Kenyan shouldn't sweat it ... if I was hung like a horse I'd be more popular too!
This is weird. You'd think they would like to get together just to brag about their pimp game. They could share ideas about how to get more from their bitches and homies. You know, pimp-chat.
I guessing the King of Bahrain didn't like his potato gift from Kerry.
Well Hugo Chavez and Idi Amin were world jokes. Their people weren't laughing though were they?
Persians vs Arabs. No contest.
The Persians are natural allies with the west.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hdcji
But don't make the mistake to say "yes" to the queen's proposal "to inspect the property".
That Time Queen Elizabeth II Scared The Shit Out Of A Saudi Prince http://jalopnik.com/that-time-queen-elizabeth-ii-scared-the-shit-out-of-a-1681462504
The Queen driving her Land-Rover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC8YFYh-jnI
King Salman, Michelle Obama, and John Kerry go into a bar.
The King looks at the bartender and says: "Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses".
The bartender says: "So, how many whiskey's and how many beers?"