Mar 24, 2017

Saudi Arabia has embraced the new US administration. Much of the kingdom's enthusiasm for Donald Trump owes more to Saudi disillusionment with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton than anything else. The Saudi embrace is not going to remove the lingering tensions between Washington and Riyadh.

The Saudi media and government have hailed the visit this month of Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman to the White House as a "turning point" that has "restored" the 70-year-old relationship back to where it was before Obama. The Saudis have emphasized that they are encouraged by American promises to counter Iranian aggression in the region and to stand behind the kingdom in its war in Yemen against the Iranian-backed Houthi Zaydi rebels. The Saudis are also encouraged by American intentions to step up the fight against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Saudis, for their part, are promising to engage with Iraq more to counter Iran's influence in Baghdad. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir's February visit to Iraq, the first by a senior Saudi official since 1990, will be followed by a sustained engagement, the Saudis say.

The enthusiasm for the new US team is a reflection of the deep disappointment with the Obama administration. It's more than a bit ironic since Obama courted the Saudis avidly his whole term in office. Riyadh was his first destination in the Arab world and he traveled to Saudi Arabia more than any other country in the Middle East, including Israel. He sold more than $110 billion in military equipment to the kingdom, far more than any of his predecessors.

But Obama also flirted with backing the Arab Spring. He hailed the departure from power of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. He encouraged the Bahraini royal family to compromise with the Shiite majority for political reforms on the island. His first secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, pressed for gender equality around the world. For the Saudis, the US support for political and social change and reform, however half-hearted, was an unprecedented departure from traditional US support for the status quo and authoritarian leaders in the region.