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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080516/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bush_mideast;_ylt=AmyBRr5z7G15cZ_M7YDxWEMV6w8F
Bush, Saudis to discuss soaring gas prices
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 2 minutes ago
JERUSALEM - President Bush put the finishing touch on his celebrate-and-be-celebrated Israel stay, leaving the Holy Land Friday with no movement on Mideast peace but hoping to fare better in Saudi Arabia at obtaining help for soaring gas prices at home.
"What's on my mind is peace," Bush told a group of Israeli youth leaders gathered for a short talk with him at the Bible Lands Museum, dedicated to the history of civilizations in the Bible. "I believe it's possible. I know it will happen when young people put their minds together."
The discussion in the grass under an olive tree in the museum's garden was Bush's last stop of a two-day visit to Israel to mark its 60th anniversary. The young people who spoke to the president and first lady Laura Bush before the media were ushered out seemed eager for an end to the long fighting between Israel and the Palestinians.
But Bush's second trip to Israel in four months ended without progress.
The two sides have been negotiating since December, but nothing visible has emerged from the secretive process. Both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are weak among their own constituencies and fresh violence from the Gaza Strip and settlement activity by Israelis are diminishing an already precious supply of trust. The president did no negotiating while he was here. In a much-anticipated Knesset speech on Thursday, he only gently urged Mideast leaders to "make the hard choices necessary," but made no mention of concrete steps.
Bush was spending the rest of his day in Saudi Arabia with King Abdullah at his horse farm outside Riyadh. Bush and Abdullah were to talk over three tea services, two meals and a meeting, most of their time out of public view. He spends Saturday afternoon and Sunday meeting with Arab leaders in Egypt before returning to Washington.
The White House said Thursday that the president's Saudi visit — intended in part to celebrate 75 years of formal U.S.-Saudi relations — would mark the conclusion of several agreements, laying out intentions to cooperate on nuclear energy, infrastructure protection and nonproliferation.
"These agreements demonstrate our shared commitment to security and economic prosperity in the region and around the world," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
But the rising price of oil loomed over the talks.
Bush last saw Abdullah in Saudi Arabia in January and, although the kingdom has traditionally been a close U.S. ally, the president's plea for an oil production increase to ease U.S. prices ultimately was for naught. Bush and his aides have argued this is because there is little additional production capacity in the Middle East, presumably repeating what they hear from their ally.
But Saudi Arabia, which has the world's largest oil reserves, has in the past acknowledged the ability to produce as much as 11 million barrels a day, up from a little over 8.5 million barrels a day now.
High energy costs are a major drain on the U.S. economy, which is experiencing a slowdown that some think is already a recession. Oil prices are nearly $125 a barrel and gasoline threatens to go to $4 a gallon this summer.
Few expect a different outcome than after Bush's January meeting with the monarch.
Anthony Cordesman, a security analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Abdullah may produce something "simply because it's good manners," but nothing that would have a significant effect.
"U.S. influence over OPEC and Gulf oil production is diminished," he said. "It's not clear what the incentive is to Saudi Arabia. We can't deliver on (Mideast) peace. We can't deliver on arms transfers. We can't deliver on the Iraq that Saudi Arabia wants. We are raising problems in terms of Iran. And the reality is the market isn't being driven by us; it's being driven by China, by India, by rising Asian demand."
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS' Middle East program, said the Saudis, with a public that doesn't like Bush and a ruling monarchy with growing interests elsewhere, are not likely "to put themselves out to help this president."
"The Saudis don't have an alternative to keeping the U.S. in its corner, but their reliance on the United States, their confidence in the United States is extremely shaken," Alterman said.
Still, Bush is paying a second visit to Abdullah in four months — on top of a stop by Vice President Dick Cheney in Saudi Arabia in March — also in part because he considers him crucial to achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Saudi Arabia immense power in the region means that its backing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and any concessions he will have to make is key.
The Saudi-American relationship began in the 1940s with a simple bargain: Saudi Arabia offered oil in return for U.S. protection. The United States became the kingdom's biggest trading partner and the Saudis became the biggest buyers of U.S. weapons. Many Saudis sent their children to American schools.
But over the years, issues arose.
Saudis, like other Arabs, feel Washington leans unfairly to Israel's side in the dispute with the Palestinians.
And Saudi-U.S. ties took their hardest hit after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which 15 the 19 airline hijackers were Saudis. Americans blamed Saudis for allowing the religious extremism that gave rise to the hijackers. Though anti-terror cooperation has been relatively strong since, Saudis still smart from what they feel are unfair accusations.
So, what are your thoughts on this article?
Posted May 16, 2008
Bush, Saudis to discuss soaring gas prices
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer 2 minutes ago
JERUSALEM - President Bush put the finishing touch on his celebrate-and-be-celebrated Israel stay, leaving the Holy Land Friday with no movement on Mideast peace but hoping to fare better in Saudi Arabia at obtaining help for soaring gas prices at home.
"What's on my mind is peace," Bush told a group of Israeli youth leaders gathered for a short talk with him at the Bible Lands Museum, dedicated to the history of civilizations in the Bible. "I believe it's possible. I know it will happen when young people put their minds together."
The discussion in the grass under an olive tree in the museum's garden was Bush's last stop of a two-day visit to Israel to mark its 60th anniversary. The young people who spoke to the president and first lady Laura Bush before the media were ushered out seemed eager for an end to the long fighting between Israel and the Palestinians.
But Bush's second trip to Israel in four months ended without progress.
The two sides have been negotiating since December, but nothing visible has emerged from the secretive process. Both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are weak among their own constituencies and fresh violence from the Gaza Strip and settlement activity by Israelis are diminishing an already precious supply of trust. The president did no negotiating while he was here. In a much-anticipated Knesset speech on Thursday, he only gently urged Mideast leaders to "make the hard choices necessary," but made no mention of concrete steps.
Bush was spending the rest of his day in Saudi Arabia with King Abdullah at his horse farm outside Riyadh. Bush and Abdullah were to talk over three tea services, two meals and a meeting, most of their time out of public view. He spends Saturday afternoon and Sunday meeting with Arab leaders in Egypt before returning to Washington.
The White House said Thursday that the president's Saudi visit — intended in part to celebrate 75 years of formal U.S.-Saudi relations — would mark the conclusion of several agreements, laying out intentions to cooperate on nuclear energy, infrastructure protection and nonproliferation.
"These agreements demonstrate our shared commitment to security and economic prosperity in the region and around the world," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
But the rising price of oil loomed over the talks.
Bush last saw Abdullah in Saudi Arabia in January and, although the kingdom has traditionally been a close U.S. ally, the president's plea for an oil production increase to ease U.S. prices ultimately was for naught. Bush and his aides have argued this is because there is little additional production capacity in the Middle East, presumably repeating what they hear from their ally.
But Saudi Arabia, which has the world's largest oil reserves, has in the past acknowledged the ability to produce as much as 11 million barrels a day, up from a little over 8.5 million barrels a day now.
High energy costs are a major drain on the U.S. economy, which is experiencing a slowdown that some think is already a recession. Oil prices are nearly $125 a barrel and gasoline threatens to go to $4 a gallon this summer.
Few expect a different outcome than after Bush's January meeting with the monarch.
Anthony Cordesman, a security analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Abdullah may produce something "simply because it's good manners," but nothing that would have a significant effect.
"U.S. influence over OPEC and Gulf oil production is diminished," he said. "It's not clear what the incentive is to Saudi Arabia. We can't deliver on (Mideast) peace. We can't deliver on arms transfers. We can't deliver on the Iraq that Saudi Arabia wants. We are raising problems in terms of Iran. And the reality is the market isn't being driven by us; it's being driven by China, by India, by rising Asian demand."
Jon Alterman, director of the CSIS' Middle East program, said the Saudis, with a public that doesn't like Bush and a ruling monarchy with growing interests elsewhere, are not likely "to put themselves out to help this president."
"The Saudis don't have an alternative to keeping the U.S. in its corner, but their reliance on the United States, their confidence in the United States is extremely shaken," Alterman said.
Still, Bush is paying a second visit to Abdullah in four months — on top of a stop by Vice President Dick Cheney in Saudi Arabia in March — also in part because he considers him crucial to achieving an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Saudi Arabia immense power in the region means that its backing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and any concessions he will have to make is key.
The Saudi-American relationship began in the 1940s with a simple bargain: Saudi Arabia offered oil in return for U.S. protection. The United States became the kingdom's biggest trading partner and the Saudis became the biggest buyers of U.S. weapons. Many Saudis sent their children to American schools.
But over the years, issues arose.
Saudis, like other Arabs, feel Washington leans unfairly to Israel's side in the dispute with the Palestinians.
And Saudi-U.S. ties took their hardest hit after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, in which 15 the 19 airline hijackers were Saudis. Americans blamed Saudis for allowing the religious extremism that gave rise to the hijackers. Though anti-terror cooperation has been relatively strong since, Saudis still smart from what they feel are unfair accusations.
So, what are your thoughts on this article?
Posted May 16, 2008