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| Obama Arrives in Saudi Arabia to Pay Respects to King’s Family | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, leading a bipartisan delegation of prominent current and former officials to offer condolences for the death of King Abdullah and pay respects. | |
| Air Force One landed midafternoon on a clear, mild day with a brisk wind snapping the American and Saudi flags to attention. The president was greeted by a military honor guard and a cordon of black-robed Saudi officials wearing white or red checkered keffiyehs. | |
| The president spoke with the new Saudi leader, King Salman, as the two walked to a covered area on the carpet. They turned to face the honor guard as the band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Saudi national anthem. | |
| Mr. Obama, Michelle Obama and Salman proceeded toward a stand by the terminal stairs. One by one, Mr. Obama shook hands in a long line of Saudi princes, senior government officials and military officers. | |
| Joining the president are his Republican opponent from 2008, Senator John McCain of Arizona, and several veterans of Republican administrations, including two former secretaries of state, James A. Baker III and Condoleezza Rice, and two former national security advisers, Brent Scowcroft and Stephen J. Hadley. | |
| Also accompanying Mr. Obama in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, are senior figures from his own administration, including Secretary of State John Kerry; John O. Brennan, the director of the C.I.A.; and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the head of the United States Central Command, the military unit that oversees Middle East operations. | |
| The White House said several Democratic members of Congress are part of the delegation as well, including some who were already traveling with the president as part of his three-day visit to India. Those to join him for the trip to Riyadh include Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Ami Bera of California and Eliot L. Engel and Joseph Crowley of New York. | |
| The heavyweight delegation, hurriedly assembled over the past couple of days, highlights the importance that the United States places on its relationship with Saudi Arabia, not just for its ample supplies of oil but also for its leadership in the region and its assistance with intelligence and counterterrorism efforts. | The heavyweight delegation, hurriedly assembled over the past couple of days, highlights the importance that the United States places on its relationship with Saudi Arabia, not just for its ample supplies of oil but also for its leadership in the region and its assistance with intelligence and counterterrorism efforts. |
| In addition to paying respects to the family of Abdullah, who died Friday, the goal of the trip is for the president and his team to take Salman’s measure and, quietly at least, assess his health. The king, 79, has had at least one stroke and lost some movement in one of his arms. | |
| While Mr. Obama has met Salman before, they do not have a notable relationship. But American officials were encouraged that Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister, was named deputy crown prince, signaling a next generation of leadership, because he has a long history of working with the United States on counterterrorism issues. He has met with Mr. Obama at least twice. | While Mr. Obama has met Salman before, they do not have a notable relationship. But American officials were encouraged that Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister, was named deputy crown prince, signaling a next generation of leadership, because he has a long history of working with the United States on counterterrorism issues. He has met with Mr. Obama at least twice. |
| In keeping with that, Mr. Obama’s delegation includes current and former officials who have worked with Prince Mohammed and his colleagues on terrorism issues, including Mr. Brennan; Lisa Monaco, the president’s counterterrorism adviser; Joseph W. Westphal, the ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Samuel Berger, a former national security adviser to President Bill Clinton; and Frances Fragos Townsend, a former counterterrorism adviser to President George W. Bush. | |
| Since his coronation last week, Salman has given no public indication of whether he will depart from the policies of his predecessor on any major international issue. But analysts say the new king shares his predecessor’s frustration with what many Saudis consider a lack of American leadership in the Middle East under Mr. Obama. | Since his coronation last week, Salman has given no public indication of whether he will depart from the policies of his predecessor on any major international issue. But analysts say the new king shares his predecessor’s frustration with what many Saudis consider a lack of American leadership in the Middle East under Mr. Obama. |
| The Saudi leadership was alarmed at the American response to the Arab Spring uprisings that began in 2011, and it has criticized Mr. Obama for giving up on Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt, and for not acting forcefully to oust President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. | The Saudi leadership was alarmed at the American response to the Arab Spring uprisings that began in 2011, and it has criticized Mr. Obama for giving up on Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt, and for not acting forcefully to oust President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. |
| The two nations have found common ground, however, in the fight against the extremists of the Islamic State, who have seized territory in Iraq and Syria. They also share concerns about Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s neighbor to the south, where the Western-backed government collapsed amid the advance of pro-Iranian Houthi militants and where Al Qaeda also has an active franchise that seeks to strike both the United States and Saudi Arabia. | The two nations have found common ground, however, in the fight against the extremists of the Islamic State, who have seized territory in Iraq and Syria. They also share concerns about Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s neighbor to the south, where the Western-backed government collapsed amid the advance of pro-Iranian Houthi militants and where Al Qaeda also has an active franchise that seeks to strike both the United States and Saudi Arabia. |
| Mr. Obama is only scheduled to spend four hours on the ground in Riyadh, long enough for a meeting and a dinner at a palace, before heading back to Washington. But the fact that he decided to go sent a message, since he rarely makes overseas trips when a country’s current or former leader dies. One of the few exceptions was the 2013 memorial to Nelson Mandela. | Mr. Obama is only scheduled to spend four hours on the ground in Riyadh, long enough for a meeting and a dinner at a palace, before heading back to Washington. But the fact that he decided to go sent a message, since he rarely makes overseas trips when a country’s current or former leader dies. One of the few exceptions was the 2013 memorial to Nelson Mandela. |
| In part, aides said, that reflects the fact that few leaders of close allies have died in office during Mr. Obama’s tenure, and they noted that it was fortunate timing that when Abdullah died, the president was already about to head to India, putting him relatively close for an extra stop in Riyadh. | In part, aides said, that reflects the fact that few leaders of close allies have died in office during Mr. Obama’s tenure, and they noted that it was fortunate timing that when Abdullah died, the president was already about to head to India, putting him relatively close for an extra stop in Riyadh. |
| Mr. Obama has had his disputes with Saudi leaders, most notably on how far to go in negotiating with Iran and on how to respond to the threat posed by the terrorist group called the Islamic State. But like his Democratic and Republican predecessors, he has leaned on Saudi Arabia for help in the region. | Mr. Obama has had his disputes with Saudi leaders, most notably on how far to go in negotiating with Iran and on how to respond to the threat posed by the terrorist group called the Islamic State. But like his Democratic and Republican predecessors, he has leaned on Saudi Arabia for help in the region. |
| “It will be a chance for us to make sure that we’re in good alignment going forward where we have overlapping interest,” said Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to Mr. Obama. “I think you saw the king send a signal that he’s committed to continuity in terms of Saudi Arabia’s approach to those issues. But again, I think we’re well placed to continue cooperation.” | “It will be a chance for us to make sure that we’re in good alignment going forward where we have overlapping interest,” said Benjamin J. Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser to Mr. Obama. “I think you saw the king send a signal that he’s committed to continuity in terms of Saudi Arabia’s approach to those issues. But again, I think we’re well placed to continue cooperation.” |