Seattle Husker
10,000+ Posts
At the very least it portrays our new prez to the Arab world as a strong leader to respect. A huge image reversal from the last prez they knew was weak and hollow.
Positive portrayal of our POTUS is welcome. Let's be clear why they weren't supportive of Obama though. Rightly or wrongly, he was traveling around promoting the Arab Spring which was a direct threat to the strongman power of the Arab elite.
Personally, I think having Kings/Dictators ruling in the ME has it's benefits. These individuals don't remotely ascribe to our fundamental values (freedom) but I'm willing to look the other way in favor of safety/stability. The risk is, we end militarily propping up allies that could become enemies in the future. I don't mind selling our technology to the Saudi's. Heck, the moment they flip to the "enemy" they can no longer get the parts and service they need to maintain their arsenal. Teaching them how to manufacture it is dumb though which seems to be core to the arms deal that was announced.