Speaking to Tom Friedman of the NY Times, Obama had little more than scorn for the Saudis and the rest of the Gulf states. “America has to listen to our Sunni Arab allies, but also not fall into the trap of letting them blame every problem on Iran. The citizens of more than a few Arab Gulf states have been big contributors to Sunni Jihadist movements that have been equally destabilizing.”
One had to rub one’s eyes in astonishment, because it sounded as if the President of the United States had taken up the role of defense attorney for the Iranians.
“In some cases, for example, the Houthis in Yemen, I think Iranian involvement has been initially overstated,” the President noted, blaming the insurgency next door to America’s Saudi ally on other, more local issues, maybe even the Saudis themselves, who knows.
As Greg Jaffe put it, writing for the Washington Post: “Such equivalence is sure to send a shudder through a region that already views the nuclear deal as the first step in a pivot towards Tehran. Obama’s hope is that the tough talk will push Saudi leaders and America’s other Gulf Arab allies into a more rational conversation with their Iranian adversaries.”
Because the Iranians, after all, are just misunderstood.
