Obama begins Middle East trip

Date: 03 / 06 / 2009  Time:  09:32
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

US President Barack Obama left Washington on Tuesday heading to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his first Middle East visit as president.

Obama is also expected to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu four to six weeks to give clear answers regarding halting settlement construction in the West Bank, and accepting a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, according to news reports.

This comes after Obama made a surprise appearance at a Washington meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and US National Security Advisor Jim Jones.

Obama’s Envoy to the Middle East, former Senator George Mitchell, is expected to seek formal responses to his inquiries when he arrives in Israel next week.

During his short stay in Saudi Arabia, Obama is scheduled to meet King Abdullah Ben Abdul-Aziz and discuss with him the Middle East peace process, the Iranian issue, and oil prices.

On Thursday, Obama will travel in Cairo to hold talks with Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, and to visit the American University where will deliver a major address on US relations with the Arab and Muslim worlds.

The Egyptian Authorities have arranged unprecedented security measures ahead of Obama’s visit.

Al-Qaeda’s Egyptian second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri, meanwhile has called on Muslims to reject Obama, whose father was a Muslim, as a “criminal.”

"His bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words," said an audio recording by a man identifying himself as Al-Zawahiri posted on an Al-Qaeda-linked website on Tuesday.

Obama seeks closer Saudi ties

Ghazanfar Ali Khan | Arab News  

Thursday 4 June 2009 (10 Jumada al-Thani 1430)

RIYADH:

Talks between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and US President Barack Obama here yesterday focused on joint efforts, closer coordination and more Saudi support to revive the Middle East peace process while many other regional and international issues were also taken up for discussion by the two leaders. Some of them included the nuclear standoff with Iran, oil and global energy market as well as US relations with the Muslim world.

“I thought it was very important to come to the place where Islam began and to seek His Majesty King Abdullah’s counsel,” Obama said before the talks.

The US president said he was confident that, working together, the United States and Saudi Arabia could make progress on a host of issues for the benefit of the two countries.

“Obviously, the United States and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendship, we have a strategic relationship,” Obama said.

King Abdullah thanked Obama for visiting Saudi Arabia and said, “The visit was not surprising for the two countries because the US is a friend and an ally of Saudi Arabia since the days of the late King Abdul Aziz and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.”

The meeting between King Abdullah and the US president took place at the king’s sprawling Janadriya ranch, 45 km north of Riyadh.

The king presented Obama with the King Abdul Aziz Medallion, which is the Kingdom’s highest honor, and called him a “distinguished man who deserves to be in this position.”

On the Middle East peace process, Obama said that there are a lot of Israelis “who recognize that their current path is unsustainable, and they need to make some tough choices on settlements to achieve a two-state solution — that is in their long-term interest — but not enough folks are willing to recognize that publicly.”

The talks also focused on cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

After the first round of talks, King Abdullah and the US president broke off into a private session that lasted at least two hours.

The US president pointed out that leaders in the region should be more candid about their concerns.

“Stop saying one thing behind closed doors and saying something else publicly,” he said. “There are a lot of Arab countries more concerned about Iran developing a nuclear weapon than the ‘threat’ from Israel, but won’t admit it.”

The presidential visit was condemned by Al-Qaeda in a video message aired by Al-Jazeera yesterday. Both countries dismissed the message as irrelevant and predictable.

Obama is scheduled to fly to Cairo today where he will deliver his much-awaited speech to try to build bridges with the Muslim world. He will also meet with President Hosni Mubarak.

Referring to the speech the US president is to deliver in Cairo today, a statement released by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) said that the Muslim world would keep an eye on what Obama says. Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC secretary-general, left for Cairo to attend the event following an invitation by the Egyptian government.

Ihsanoglu also renewed OIC’s commitment to cooperate in order to boost constructive dialogue between the US and OIC member states.

Obama’s speech in Cairo is said to be an opportunity to deliver a “broader message about how the United States can change for the better” its relationship with the Muslim world.

Israel: Obama's speech could harm US-Israeli relations?

Thursday June 04, 2009 02:14 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

An Israeli Foreign Ministry official stated Wednesday  that Obama’s speech would harm US-Israeli relations, and that Israel is awaiting this speech with “suspense and embarrassment”, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.

Obama - Reprinted from Iranian Freedom

He said that this speech could have negative impacts on the historic US-Israeli relations.

 But other officials in Israel said that this speech could have positive impacts on the Middle East peace process as it could make “moderates in the Arab world realize that the United Sates supports them”.

 Haaretz added that several ministers of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu refused to comment on the visit and the anticipated speech fearing that their comments could cause further strains in the US-Israeli relations over the Israeli rejection to the US demand that Israel should halt its settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

One of the ministers said that Obama is demanding concessions from Israel, claimed that Israel already made lots of concessions, and that that relations do not need to deteriorate any further.

 Ben Rhodes, US president’s speech writer said that Obama plans to keep working on the speech until the final moments, which means that it could be altered.

Officials at the White House said that the speech is not a presentation of a new US policy in the Middle East.

 He claimed that Obama would not be presenting detailed plan on Middle-East peace, but would rather present his position on how the conflict should be resolved.

The speech would be published by the US administration in Arabic, English, Persian and Urdo.   

Obama arrives in Saudi Arabia

Thursday June 04, 2009 01:40 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

US President, Barack Obama, landed in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, officially starting his trip to the Middle East, which would include Egypt before heading to Germany and France. Obama was welcomed by the Saudi King, Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz.

Obama with the Saudi king Abdullah, image Middle East Online

The President intends to present a new plan for resolving the Middle East conflict in July.

His visit comes amidst Israeli rejection to his calls for freezing settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, said that Israel will not “transfer the settlers”, and that he would hold a meeting with settler leaders from different parts of the West Bank.

Israeli Housing Minister, Ariel Eitas, said that the current period is the worst for settlers, and added that when the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, was in power he spoke against settlement but continued their construction.

He added that “right now, there is a right-wing government in Israel, and this government is talking about freezing settlement activities”.

“Left wing governments talk left but act right”, he added.

During his meeting with the Saudi King,  Obama said that he is confident that the United States can work with Saudi Arabia to achieve progress on issues of mutual interests.

 Abdullah thanked Obama and sent his wishes to “the Americans who elected a distinguished man to represent them”.

 Abdullah greeted Obama at the Riyadh Airport and the Saudi forces played the national anthems of Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Obama would be heading to Cairo to deliver the anticipated speech on the Middle East and the US-Arab relations.

 His speech aims at improving the US relations with the Arab and Muslim worlds.

US officials stated that Obama would tackle difficult issues, including Iraq and Afghanistan, and the much talked about the Palestinian right to statehood.  

US looks for Saudi help in Afghanistan, Pakistan

By Sebastian Abbot, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jun 3, 2009, 11:27 am ET

KABUL –

The United States, grappling with how to counter the spread of Taliban militants on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, is turning to Saudi Arabia for help. But so far the kingdom seems wary of diving into the thorny conflict.

President Barack Obama met with Saudi King Abdullah on Wednesday in Riyadh, where he stressed the need for the two countries to cooperate.

"I am confident that working together that the United States and Saudi Arabia can make progress on a whole host of issues of mutual interest," said Obama.

Pakistan was expected to be on the agenda when the two leaders met, according to Mark Lippert, deputy national security adviser.

Obama's defense secretary, Robert Gates, has already asked the Saudis for help in staving off the spread of militants in Pakistan and encouraging Pakistani officials to work together in countering the terrorist threat.

"Saudi Arabia clearly has a lot of influence throughout the entire region, and a long-standing and close relationship with Pakistan," Gates said after a visit to the kingdom last month.

Many experts say the Sunni Arab powerhouse could be crucial in mediating some form of reconciliation with the Islamic extremists wreaking havoc in both countries. Saudi Arabia could also help cut off large sums of money that flow to militants from wealthy Saudi donors and Islamic charities.

Saudi Arabia has historical ties with the Taliban. The kingdom and Pakistan worked together to facilitate the rise of the radical Islamic movement in the 1990s and they, along with the United Arab Emirates, were the only countries to recognize Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Saudi relations with Pakistan are equally deep. Riyadh and Washington worked through Pakistan's intelligence services to provide money and weapons for Islamic fighters battling the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Saudi Arabia also holds a special religious status as the land of Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly asked Saudi Arabia to mediate between his government and the Taliban.

Still, the kingdom is reluctant to take an overt mediation role unless all sides are clearly ready to make peace, said Ali Awadh Asseri, the former Saudi ambassador to Pakistan, who left his post in May.

Saudi Arabia learned from its experience in the 1990s after the Soviets left Afghanistan, he said. At the time, the kingdom invited the warring Afghan factions to Mecca and brokered a peace deal, but they returned home and resumed fighting.

"So we will only be involved when there is absolute commitment by all factions," he said. "We're not going to jump in."

But that doesn't mean the Saudi role has been nonexistent. It has always preferred to work through secret back channels rather than public diplomacy, and its approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan has been no different.

Abdullah held a secret meeting with Afghan officials and former Taliban government members in Mecca last September to explore the possibility of mediating reconciliation talks, said Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, who attended the meeting.

Saudi Arabia has contact with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and other militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to Arsala Rahmani, a former Taliban deputy higher education minister, who also attended.

"If Saudi Arabia can't convince the Taliban to negotiate, nobody can," said Rahmani.

But many experts believe the Taliban won't be ready to strike a deal that is acceptable to Afghanistan, Pakistan and their allies until they lose momentum on the battlefield.

"I believe as long as a range of militant groups believe they are powerful and feel they can spread influence, they are not going to want to reconcile," said Seth Jones, an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan at the RAND Corporation.

The Obama administration has indicated a willingness to reconcile with more moderate members of the Taliban. It also hopes the thousands of additional troops it is sending to Afghanistan this year and the recent Pakistani military operation in the country's northwest will help reverse militant gains.

But there are limits to the effectiveness of Saudi mediation.

Steve Coll, an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan who heads the New America Foundation, pointed out that the Saudis were unable to convince the Taliban to turn over Osama bin Laden in the late 1990s.

"The Saudis have attempted over the years a number of mediations of this character because of their religious prestige," said Coll. "But the agreements in Mecca tend not to stick when the parties get back home, and the Taliban in particular have proved intractable in Saudi mediation."

The Saudis could be better help in policing the large sums of money that flow into the countries, especially Pakistan, from wealthy donors and Islamic charities in the kingdom, said Daniel Markey, an Afghanistan and Pakistan expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Saudis have insisted they are doing all they can to rein in terror financing. Many experts believe they could do more but say the Saudis are wary about angering religious conservatives in the country who are key government supporters.