Sunday, June 07, 2009

Saudi king asks Obama to impose solution

Arab newspaper says Saudi leadership pressing Washington to take active role in solving Palestinian crisis, even if this means forcing a solution on both sides

Roee Nahmias
Israel News
YNET News

Arab patience is wearing thin in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz told US President Barack Obama during their meeting in Riyadh last Wednesday. According to a report in Saudi daily al-Hayat, the Saudi leader urged Obama to become actively involved in the process, to the point of "imposing a solution" on the two sides "if necessary." Insider sources told the paper that President Obama could not hide how impressed he was with King Abdullah and that he "listened intently to everything said."



Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are seeking to have Washington take a tougher line with Israel both on accepting Palestinian statehood and freezing construction in the settlements.



Abdullah said that a solution of the conflict would be the "magic key" to all issues in the Middle East.

"We want from you a serious participation to solve the Palestinian issue and impose the solution if necessary," the paper quoted the Saudi monarch as telling Obama.



"We Arabs want to devote our time to building people, building a generation that is capable of handling the future through knowledge and action, we have a genuine desire for peace," Abdullah said.

Comment: Keep this story in perspective. The Arabs have become impatient-if you believe this then you know little about how politics works in this region of the world. They know they have a weak USA President. A man who has already gone out of the proverbial limb to demonstrate how "tough" he can be with Israel and thus become the man who changed the playing field in the ME. The Saudis believe that they can "influence" Obama, code for manipulate him, into doing what they desire. Time will tell-hopefully there re sounder thinking Americans in the government who see through this latest PR moment. All of this story and its sub-title "Arabs have had it" is designed to pressure Obama in a manner he has never before been pressured. You are about to see what kind of person you elected to be President.

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