SAUDI ARABIA IS INCREASINGLY WORRIED: SURROUNDED BY IRANIAN SPONSPORED UNREST - AND OBAMA IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN

NYTIMES:

The recent illness of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, 87, who is expected to return to the kingdom this week after an absence of more than three months for treatment in the United States and Morocco, has reinforced the sense of insecurity.

“The Saudis are completely encircled by the problem, from Jordan to Iraq to Bahrain to Yemen,” said one Arab diplomat, voicing a view that is common in the halls of power in Riyadh, the capital. “Saudi Arabia is the last heavyweight U.S. ally in the region facing Iran.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with diplomatic protocol.

The Saudis tend to see any threat to the established order in the region as a gain for their nemesis Iran, and its allies Syria and Hezbollah. They have grown increasingly worried that the Obama administration is drifting away from this perspective and supporting movements for change whose outcome cannot be guaranteed. Those worries were heightened by the crisis in Egypt, where the Saudis felt that Mr. Mubarak should have been allowed to stay on and make a more “dignified” exit, Saudi officials say.

King Abdullah had at least two phone conversations with President Obama to convey his concerns in the weeks before Mr. Mubarak’s ouster, and the last conversation ended in sharp disagreement, according to officials familiar with the calls.

... Still, the Saudis are closely watching American diplomatic gestures toward Bahrain. Any wavering of American support for Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy, analysts say, would provoke a deep sense of betrayal, and could create an unprecedented rift in a partnership with the United States that has been a pillar of Saudi policy since 1945.

“Saudi Arabia has always had a fear of encirclement, whether with Communism or with Iranian influence,” said Rachel Bronson, an expert on Saudi Arabia at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “Bahrain to me is the tipping point for when this becomes really unsettling.”

DUE TO OBAMA'S INACTIONS, INCOMPETENCE AND PRO-MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ACTIONS, I FEAR THAT THE HOUSE OF SAUD MIGHT SOON FEEL IT MUST CUT CLOSE TIES WITH THE USA AND - LIKE TURKEY - START TO APPEASE IRAN AND COME WITHIN IRAN'S HEGEMONY.

OR RUSSIA'S.

OR CHINA'S.

NONE OF THESE OTHER MOVES WILL BE GOOD FOR THE FREE WORLD.

SIGH.

IF OBAMA REALLY WAS A CRYPTO-MUSLIM WHO WANTED THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD TO CONTROL THE ARAB WORLD AND IRAN THE SHIA WORLD, THEN WOULD HE DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY?

NOPE.