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Trump to reassure Saudi allies, promote business, talk tough on radicalism


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Trump to reassure Saudi allies, promote business, talk tough on radicalism

By Yara Bayoumy and Katie Paul

REUTERS

 

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U.S President Donald Trump watches as Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan departs at the entrance to the West Wing of the White House in Washington, U.S. May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON/RIYADH (Reuters) - When U.S. President Donald Trump meets Saudi princes in Riyadh on Saturday, he can expect a warmer welcome than the one given a year ago to his predecessor Barack Obama, who Riyadh considered soft on arch foe Iran and cool toward a bilateral relationship that is a mainstay of the Middle East's security balance.

 

Beneath the pomp, Riyadh will be looking for assurances that the Trump administration will continue its notably harsher tone toward Iran and keep up pressure, through both rhetoric and action, to stop what Saudi Arabia sees as Tehran's destabilising activities in the region.

 

The U.S.-Saudi alliance has experienced turbulence since Riyadh faulted what it saw as Obama's withdrawal from the region, a perceived tilt toward Iran since the 2011 Arab uprisings and a lack of direct action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an Iranian ally.

 

Saudi Arabia will also want to showcase high-profile investment deals with American companies to show progress on its ambitious "Vision 2030" economic and social reform agenda, while Washington says U.S. arms sales arms worth tens of billions of dollars are in the pipeline.

 

Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia is the first stop on his maiden international trip since taking office in January. U.S. and Saudi officials are eager to highlight the powerful symbolism of an American president choosing to visit the birthplace of Islam as his first stop rather than to neighbours Canada or Mexico.

 

Besides meeting with Saudi officials, Trump will also meet with leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and have lunch with leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries.

 

Critics have accused Trump of being anti-Muslim after he issued a ban, now blocked by U.S. courts, on entry into the United States by citizens of several Muslim-majority countries, citing national security concerns.

 

U.S. public opinion of Saudi Arabia has never fully recovered since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi. The U.S. Congress last year passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, a law permitting lawsuits holding Saudi Arabia responsible for the attacks. The Saudi government has long denied involvement.

 

Trump's visit "sends a clear message that the U.S. is standing with its close allies in the region and that they're not abandoning them," a senior Saudi official told Reuters, reflecting the view many Gulf leaders had of Obama, who they considered had made securing a nuclear deal with Iran a higher priority than the U.S.-Gulf alliance.

 

Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia in April 2016 was overshadowed by Gulf Arab exasperation with his approach to the region, and doubts about Washington's commitment to regional security.

 

"This (new) administration comes in and ... says, 'No, wait a minute, Iran is active,'" the official said, referring to Gulf states' views of Iran's involvement through proxies in regional conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Yemen.

 

The Trump administration has called the nuclear agreement with Iran "the worst deal ever negotiated," and senior administration officials have repeatedly criticized Iran's behaviour for its support for Assad, its ballistic missile activities and its support for militant groups in the region.

 

Mustafa Alani, the director of security and defence at the Jeddah-based Gulf Research Center think tank, said that beyond U.S. rhetoric, Gulf leaders would like to see "America classify Iranian-supported militias as terrorist groups."

 

SUPPORT IN YEMEN

 

Saudi Arabia will also be looking for further U.S. support in the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the loosely Iran-aligned Houthi group and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to restore the internationally recognised government to power.

 

The Obama administration backed Saudi Arabia when it launched air strikes in Yemen in March 2015 but grew sour as it saw the number of civilian casualties grow and curtailed some military support to Riyadh.

 

By contrast, "we don't get criticized about the war in Yemen" by the Trump administration, the senior Saudi official said.

 

In Trump's meeting with GCC leaders, the discussion will revolve around how to strengthen the structures of the group, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to be more effective, a senior White House official said.

 

The Republican U.S. president along with first lady Melania Trump will dine with Saudi royal family members. Trump, known for his penchant for Twitter, will participate in a Twitter forum with young people, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said on Tuesday.

 

Trump will deliver a speech on "the need to confront radical ideology" and participate in the inauguration of a new centre intended "to fight radicalism and promote moderation," McMaster said.

 

While Trump has criticized Saudi Arabia for not paying enough for U.S. military support, he has been silent since becoming president about its religious conservatism. Traditional Wahhabi doctrine is ultra-conservative, imposing a strict version of Islamic law and urging resumption of early Muslim practices.

 

Critics of the kingdom say the government does not do enough to prevent the teachings of some of its ultra-conservative clergy from fanning militancy overseas as well as a domestic security threat at home.

 

Radicalization of Muslims in the world's top oil exporter has led to domestic attacks and the involvement of Saudi citizens in jihadist movements in Iraq and Syria.

 

The senior clergy have denounced militant Islamic doctrines, such as those of al Qaeda or Islamic State, but still preach intolerant views.

 

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

 

An inaugural Saudi-U.S. CEO forum will be held in Riyadh on Saturday in which several deals are expected to be signed in defence, electricity, oil and gas, industrial and chemical sectors. New licenses for U.S. companies to operate in the Kingdom also will be issued.

 

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's son, is the face of "Vision 2030" and is eager to showcase the kingdom's success a year since its inception.

 

The CEO of state oil giant Saudi Aramco is expected to sign deals with top U.S. companies to promote local manufacturing.

General Electric Co <GE.N> is due to sign several memoranda of understanding. Saudi Basic Industries Corp <2010.SE> and U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> are also expected to sign a protocol agreement to develop their joint chemical project in Texas, a source close to the matter said.

 

The White House official said the kingdom was in the final stage of negotiating a $100 billion arms deal.

 

A New York Stock Exchange delegation is also expected to visit Saudi Arabia after Trump to try to lure a listing by Aramco, slated for 2018 and worth about $100 billion. World stock exchanges are vying for slices of Aramco's initial public offering, expected to be the largest in history, with Hong Kong currently the frontrunner among bourses in Asia because of its strategic links to key Saudi oil importer China.

 

The NYSE delegation will have tough competition as rival exchanges tweak regulation to become more attractive options. 

 

(Reporting by Yara Bayoumy in Washington and Katie Paul in Riyadh; Additional reporting by Reem Shamseddine in Jeddah and Steve Holland and Mike Stone in Washington; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Will Dunham)

 
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-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-05-17
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7 hours ago, webfact said:

Beneath the pomp, Riyadh will be looking for assurances that the Trump administration will continue its notably harsher tone toward Iran and keep up pressure, through both rhetoric and action, to stop what Saudi Arabia sees as Tehran's destabilising activities in the region.

 

Pick between Saudi Arabia and Tehran gee its a coin toss. 

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14 minutes ago, Luckysilk said:

I'm looking forward to his first trip abroad - should be good for the USA.

 

It will also be fun to watch the left go into overtime with their anti President Trump trashing.

Yes they will need overtime no doubt. They can even do a little cherry picking as there will lots of guffaws/gaffs to choose from. 

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7 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump's visit "sends a clear message that the U.S. is standing with its close allies in the region and that they're not abandoning them," a senior Saudi official told Reuters

Lets hope he does not end up with egg on his face. 

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Lets hope he does not end up with egg on his face. 

Who are we kidding. He opens his mouth and something embarrassing comes out. He's already brought down the credibility of the USA on the world stage....and more to come soon. Sad.
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55 minutes ago, jerojero said:


Who are we kidding. He opens his mouth and something embarrassing comes out. He's already brought down the credibility of the USA on the world stage....and more to come soon. Sad.

Thanks for extending my post.

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Saudi Arabia has done far more to spread radical Islamic ideology of the kind that inspires terrorist groups like al qaeda, Isis, and taliban than Iran ever has. No wonder Obama was cool towards them, as the article says.

 

But now the 70 year old man with the mind of a 7 year old decides he likes them. Because they have a lot of money? Because they personally  flattered him? Because he's simply an ignoramus? The man disgusts me as he should anyone who doesn't have their head buried in the sand.

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On 5/17/2017 at 8:50 PM, charmonman said:

Saudi Arabia has done far more to spread radical Islamic ideology of the kind that inspires terrorist groups like al qaeda, Isis, and taliban than Iran ever has. No wonder Obama was cool towards them, as the article says.

 

But now the 70 year old man with the mind of a 7 year old decides he likes them. Because they have a lot of money? Because they personally  flattered him? Because he's simply an ignoramus? The man disgusts me as he should anyone who doesn't have their head buried in the sand.

You have to have pretty fast feet to end up on the right side of his dance card. The new dance is The Trump Shuffle. 

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On 5/17/2017 at 8:50 PM, charmonman said:

Saudi Arabia has done far more to spread radical Islamic ideology of the kind that inspires terrorist groups like al qaeda, Isis, and taliban than Iran ever has. No wonder Obama was cool towards them, as the article says.

 

But now the 70 year old man with the mind of a 7 year old decides he likes them. Because they have a lot of money? Because they personally  flattered him? Because he's simply an ignoramus? The man disgusts me as he should anyone who doesn't have their head buried in the sand.

Saudi Arabia, an ISIS That Has Made It

Black Daesh, white Daesh. The former slits throats, kills, stones, cuts off hands, destroys humanity’s common heritage and despises archaeology, women and non-Muslims. The latter is better dressed and neater but does the same things.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/21/opinion/saudi-arabia-an-isis-that-has-made-it.html

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Jared got them a discount on the THAAD system.

 

Kushner called Lockheed CEO about $100B Saudi arms deal

 

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's son-in-law and utility diplomat, Jared Kushner, shocked a high-level Saudi delegation earlier this month when he personally called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and asked if she would cut the price of a sophisticated missile detection system, according to a source with knowledge of the call.

 

Pressured to finalize a massive $100-plus billion arms deal in the two weeks leading up to Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount on Lockheed's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the Saudis' visit to the White House on May 1 -- a request that Hewson said she would look into at the time.


The New York Times first reported the exchange between Kushner and Hewson.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/19/politics/jared-kushner-saudi-arms-deal-lockheed-martin/

 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/world/middleeast/jared-kushner-saudi-arabia-arms-deal-lockheed.html?smid=tw-share&referer=https://t.co/wslwDoJbyG

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3 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Jared got them a discount on the THAAD system.

 

Kushner called Lockheed CEO about $100B Saudi arms deal

 

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's son-in-law and utility diplomat, Jared Kushner, shocked a high-level Saudi delegation earlier this month when he personally called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and asked if she would cut the price of a sophisticated missile detection system, according to a source with knowledge of the call.

 

Pressured to finalize a massive $100-plus billion arms deal in the two weeks leading up to Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount on Lockheed's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the Saudis' visit to the White House on May 1 -- a request that Hewson said she would look into at the time.


The New York Times first reported the exchange between Kushner and Hewson.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/19/politics/jared-kushner-saudi-arms-deal-lockheed-martin/

 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/world/middleeast/jared-kushner-saudi-arabia-arms-deal-lockheed.html?smid=tw-share&referer=https://t.co/wslwDoJbyG

The articles state Hewson is looking into it... I see nothing about a final price lowered from the original.  There is always hard bargaining on these contracts regardless.  Kushner has influence, and he is working with a good customer on the final price of a one hundred [or so] billion dollar contract.  

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1 minute ago, Ramen087 said:

The articles state Hewson is looking into it... I see nothing about a final price lowered from the original.  There is always hard bargaining on these contracts regardless.  Kushner has influence, and he is working with a good customer on the final price of a one hundred [or so] billion dollar contract.  

It would have been a coup for Trump to have this 100 billion dollar deal signed off before he touched down in the Saudi Kingdom.

I also see nothing improper yet to indicate Trumps family did anything wrong to try to push the bargaining through quickly.

It is just that Trump and his regime are so tainted, that anything anyone of them does will be open to suspicion. And make the news.

Many people will now look back with fondness on the Obama years.

Mostly stable, mostly peaceful, and having a real statesman for a leader, someone that could talk like a leader. And had some respect around the world.

Something the US is losing except for some despot nations. Hell, even Uncle Kim is coming around to Trump.

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3 minutes ago, spiderorchid said:

It would have been a coup for Trump to have this 100 billion dollar deal signed off before he touched down in the Saudi Kingdom.

I also see nothing improper yet to indicate Trumps family did anything wrong to try to push the bargaining through quickly.

It is just that Trump and his regime are so tainted, that anything anyone of them does will be open to suspicion. And make the news.

Many people will now look back with fondness on the Obama years.

Mostly stable, mostly peaceful, and having a real statesman for a leader, someone that could talk like a leader. And had some respect around the world.

Something the US is losing except for some despot nations. Hell, even Uncle Kim is coming around to Trump.

Maybe they close the deal person-to-person.

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On 5/20/2017 at 8:26 AM, mtls2005 said:

Jared got them a discount on the THAAD system.

 

Kushner called Lockheed CEO about $100B Saudi arms deal

 

Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's son-in-law and utility diplomat, Jared Kushner, shocked a high-level Saudi delegation earlier this month when he personally called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and asked if she would cut the price of a sophisticated missile detection system, according to a source with knowledge of the call.

 

Pressured to finalize a massive $100-plus billion arms deal in the two weeks leading up to Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount on Lockheed's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the Saudis' visit to the White House on May 1 -- a request that Hewson said she would look into at the time.


The New York Times first reported the exchange between Kushner and Hewson.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/19/politics/jared-kushner-saudi-arms-deal-lockheed-martin/

 

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/05/18/world/middleeast/jared-kushner-saudi-arabia-arms-deal-lockheed.html?smid=tw-share&referer=https://t.co/wslwDoJbyG

You have to give it to Kushner he does really have a pair of brass ones. Methinks there is a law or 2 here that have been broken but things seem to have moved beyond that point. 

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23 hours ago, spiderorchid said:

It would have been a coup for Trump to have this 100 billion dollar deal signed off before he touched down in the Saudi Kingdom.

 

Donald Trump signs $110bn arms deal hours after landing in Saudi Arabia

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-latest-saudi-arabia-billions-arms-deal-military-sales-a7746601.html

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3 minutes ago, kevkev1888 said:

"Back in September, the Obama administration approved a more than $115 billion arms deal with the Saudis. But as the death toll and reports of human rights violations in the Saudi-led war on Yemen began to rise dramatically, the Obama administration nixed the sale of the precision-guided munitions it had originally agreed to put in the deal to try to coerce the Saudis into curbing those atrocities.

Now those munitions are back in the Trump arms package — which speaks volumes about this administration."

https://www.vox.com/2017/5/20/15626638/trump-saudi-arabia-arms-deal

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I am watching Trump give a speech to the meeting in Riyadh.

It's pretty boring as he's no doubt been given the hard word about going off script.

 

However, IMO the real fireworks will be going on in Wahabbi country as they rage against women with uncovered faces sitting in the same audiences as men. I never thought I'd see that in my lifetime! Perhaps the meeting is censored in Saudi though. They censored Clinton's inauguration during the bit where a woman was singing! ( I was watching it there )

 

I wonder what the Sunni audience think considering that IS is a Sunni cabal and Trump wants to destroy them.

Edited by thaibeachlovers
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