- Sep 9, 2022
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The story American media spun is that it was Bush who planted a kiss on the Saudi. But this is wrong. It was the Saudi who planted his kiss on the cheek of President Bush.
Read up on it.
George W. Bush waited until the last year of his term to visit the kingdom, then came twice in the span of four months, pressing for more oil output as energy prices skyrocketed.
King Abdullah greeted Bush warmly at the airport in May 2008, showing no signs of the tensions that had roiled their 2002 meeting at Bush's Texas ranch –- when Abdullah, then crown prince, threatened to storm out over disagreements about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After Bush and his wife Laura descended from Air Force One, Abdullah kissed the president on both cheeks, in a traditional Arab greeting, and a military brass band played the American national anthem.
But the Saudi leadership refused to give ground on oil. Much like today, Saudi officials said they did not believe there was a supply shortage and that market fundamentals were "sound".
- Obama's downgrade -
President Barack Obama first came to Riyadh in 2009, less than five months after being sworn in, for a quick stop ahead of a much-hyped speech in Cairo intended to rehabilitate Washington's image in the Muslim world after the Bush years.
The visit was partly symbolic. Obama, following the customary cheek-kissing and anthem-playing, was publicly seeking the advice of Saudi Arabia -- home to the holiest sites in Islam -- before reorienting American engagement with the region.
But Obama was also trying to coordinate a strategy to address Iran's nuclear programme and looking to advance normalisation between Arab countries and Israel, said Dan Shapiro, then-senior director on the National Security Council.
Read up on it.
George W. Bush waited until the last year of his term to visit the kingdom, then came twice in the span of four months, pressing for more oil output as energy prices skyrocketed.
King Abdullah greeted Bush warmly at the airport in May 2008, showing no signs of the tensions that had roiled their 2002 meeting at Bush's Texas ranch –- when Abdullah, then crown prince, threatened to storm out over disagreements about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
After Bush and his wife Laura descended from Air Force One, Abdullah kissed the president on both cheeks, in a traditional Arab greeting, and a military brass band played the American national anthem.
But the Saudi leadership refused to give ground on oil. Much like today, Saudi officials said they did not believe there was a supply shortage and that market fundamentals were "sound".
- Obama's downgrade -
President Barack Obama first came to Riyadh in 2009, less than five months after being sworn in, for a quick stop ahead of a much-hyped speech in Cairo intended to rehabilitate Washington's image in the Muslim world after the Bush years.
The visit was partly symbolic. Obama, following the customary cheek-kissing and anthem-playing, was publicly seeking the advice of Saudi Arabia -- home to the holiest sites in Islam -- before reorienting American engagement with the region.
But Obama was also trying to coordinate a strategy to address Iran's nuclear programme and looking to advance normalisation between Arab countries and Israel, said Dan Shapiro, then-senior director on the National Security Council.
