While the White House tries to explain away the effective boycott by Gulf leaders of President Obama’s summit at Camp David a question that should be asked is whether the Obama administration considered the possibility that some of the invitees for the summit meeting might be reluctant to come, before announcing it with some fanfare. (Although the Saudis have now announced that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef will attend in place of King Salman, the episode remains an embarrassment for the US.)
Even if relations had been on more solid ground, common sense would have dictated sounding out at least the most critical participant – Saudi Arabia – in advance, particularly since the Saudis would be predictably unhappy with the appearance of having been summoned to a meeting in the US.
But, of course, the US-Saudi relationship is not on solid ground and it would reasonable for the Saudis to fear participating in a piece of diplomatic theater that would appear to put their stamp of approval on the administration’s dealing with Iran.
That is one more reason to have approached them in advance to try to reach some agreement on the agenda – and the expected results of a meeting.
Perhaps the Saudis at first indicated they were coming and then changed their minds – which would make this an even bigger slap in the face. But if the administration simply failed to consult in advance, that is diplomatic malpractice which has provided both America’s enemies and its friends with another display of declining respect for American power.
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