Obama asks for Saudi king's help on Gaza

[bemildred]

Washington - US President Barack Obama urged Saudi King Abdullah on Friday to help international efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip, the White House said.

Obama spoke with Abdullah by telephone as he continued to call foreign leaders several days after being sworn into office. Obama also spoke with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Obama and Abdullah discussed bilateral relations, and the president thanked the king for his efforts in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and humanitarian support for the Palestinians, the White House said.

Halting the smuggling of weapons to Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip is seen as key toward maintaining a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that was enacted last weekend after three weeks of fighting.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1455432.php/Obama_asks_for_Saudi_kings_help_on_Gaza_

[DrDan]

1. he "asks" - quite a change from 8 years of "telling"

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. One gets the sense that, if what Obama does doesn't work then

nothing will work.

[theoldman]

3. It's high time the Saudis chipped in with humanitarian aid.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

5. How much have they donated? nt

[Idealism]

4. The Saudi's would be more than willing to do this

because what Obama really means is "someone needs to crack down on Iran" supplying weapons to Hamas. It turns into a Sunni vs Shia thing, Saudi Arabia and Iran have had a long history of mutual tension and dislike due to their religious differences.