And scares me a bit in the process:
‘‘We need to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns we have.’’
How does he balance U.S. torture with human rights concerns without the argument falling apart?
"Obama defends US ties as he pays respects in Saudi Arabia" by Julie Pace, Associated Press January 28, 2015
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Obama defended the US government’s willingness to cooperate closely with Saudi Arabia on national security despite deep concerns over human rights abuses, as he joined an array of current and former American statesmen Tuesday in paying respects following the death of King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia’s status as one of Washington’s most important Arab allies has at times appeared to trump US concerns about the terrorist funding that flows from the kingdom and about human rights abuses. But in his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s new king, Obama brought up human rights only in broad terms, without citing specific cases, a senior Obama administration official said.
Then let us simply dispense with the charade.
Obama, in a CNN interview in advance of his arrival, said he has found it most effective to apply steady pressure over human rights ‘‘even as we are getting business done that needs to get done.’’
‘‘Sometimes we need to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns we have in terms of counterterrorism or dealing with regional stability,’’ Obama said.
During his brief stop in Riyadh, Obama held his first formal meeting with King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Salman, newly installed on the throne following the death of the 90-year-old Abdullah on Friday.
He's demented, but.... he will also likely be dead soon.
The roughly hourlong meeting focused on a range of Mideast security issues — sectarian divisions in Iraq, the US-led campaign against the Islamic State, the precarious situation in Yemen, and support for Syrian opposition fighting President Bashar Assad, said the US official who briefed reporters traveling with Obama on condition of anonymity, citing the private nature of the talks.
See: Why Yemen?
More to follow on that tomorrow.
Obama invoked human rights during the sit-down to make the point that tolerance and free speech are necessary to undercut the extremist ideology that fuels terrorist groups. The official said Obama told the king that it is important to ensure citizens have an outlet to express themselves.
This as the West reacts to the Paris script with restrictions on free speech and an extremist ideology presented every day by the Zionist War Papers.
But the president did not bring up US concerns about Saudi Arabia’s flogging of blogger Raif Badawi, who was convicted of insulting Islam and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.
Now THAT did draw my attention, and it shows that president bubblehead -- who I have defended here on occasion -- doesn't give a rat's ass about people like you and me, readers.
Combine that with the NDAA giving him the power to imprison Americans by labeling them security threats, and you can see my concern.
His first flogging took place in early January in front of dozens of people in the Red Sea city of Jiddah, though a second round has been postponed after a doctor said his wounds from the first lashes had not yet healed.
Related: We will take the lashes for Saudi blogger
That's nice of them, but doesn't really address the issue.
‘‘On this visit, obviously a lot of this is just paying respects to King Abdullah, who in his own fashion presented some modest reform efforts within the kingdom,’’ Obama said before the visit.
Did he suck Saudi c***, too?
Stepping off the plane earlier in Riyadh, the president and Michelle Obama were greeted by Salman and a military band playing both countries’ national anthems. Some of the all-male Saudi delegation shook hands with Mrs. Obama while others gave her a nod as they passed by. Mrs. Obama wore full-length clothing but no headscarf, as is typical for many Western women in Saudi Arabia, despite the strict dress code for Saudi women in public.
So the human rights, women can't drive stuff, didn't matter to the mrs's, either?
Salman formally greeted Obama and the US delegation at the Erga Palace on the outskirts of Riyadh, where dozens of Saudi officials filed through a marble-walled room to greet the Americans under massive crystal chandeliers. Then they sat for a three-course dinner of grilled meats, baked lobster, and Arabic and French deserts.
I'm glad they are all eating well when so many are starving.
Obama cut short his trip to India to spend just a few hours in Riyadh.
That trip was dead on arrival.
Further underscoring Saudi Arabia’s key role in US foreign policy was the extensive delegation that joined Obama for the visit.
The United States and Saudi Arabia have worked in close coordination to address evolving security concerns in the tumultuous region. Most recently, Saudi Arabia became one of a handful of Arab nations that have joined the United States in launching airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Yet Obama’s presidency has also been marked by occasional strains with the Saudi royal family.
Abdullah had pressed the United States to take more aggressive action to force Assad from power. The royal family has also been deeply skeptical of Obama’s diplomacy with rival Iran. But the senior US official said Salman did not express reservations about ongoing nuclear negotiations with Tehran, merely stating that Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
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So he didn't talk about Saudi oil production driving US frackers out of business, either?
Obama did manage to balance this act:
"Obama will drop proposal to end ‘529’ college savings plans" by Jonathan Weisman, New York Times January 28, 2015
WASHINGTON — President Obama, facing angry reprisals from parents and from lawmakers of both parties, will drop his proposal to end popular college savings accounts known as 529s but the decision came just hours after House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio demanded the proposal be withdrawn from the president’s budget, due out Monday, “for the sake of middle-class families.” But the call for the White House to relent also came from top Democrats, including representatives Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee.
Pelosi pressed the case to senior administration officials on board Air Force One as she flew with the president from India to Saudi Arabia, according to Democratic aides familiar with the discussions.
****************
What to White House economists was a clearheaded assessment of tax fairness has proved to be a cautionary tale for politicians focusing their efforts on the shriveling middle class and trying to overhaul and simplify the tax code. The idea was to end one tax break tilted toward the wealthy and plow that billion-dollar savings over 10 years into a far larger expansion of another tuition tax credit aimed more squarely at the middle class.
But in the days since the plan was rolled out, all anyone seems to remember of Obama’s college access plan is the proposed end to 529 accounts, which has angered more affluent savers, prompted a backlash from Wall Street and the state governments that run the accounts, and given Republicans an opening to claim they are the guardians of the struggling middle class....
You $ee why he is backing down, right?
The contretemps over college accounts held broader lessons. For one, tax reform and “simplification” sound great in the abstract, but all those tax breaks that would be consolidated have constituencies, many of them vocal. For another, Americans’ concept of the middle class is far more elastic than that of economists....
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Also see: Fight for 529 college savings plan was a worthwhile investment
Especially for certain intere$ts.
You got enough $alt in that wound?
NDU: It just occurred to me that Obama's fealty comes in country that officially sanctions beheadings as punishment -- unlike icky ISIS barbarians, but....
