Subject: Morning Brief, Presented by The Maxwell School at Syracuse University: Obama Leads High Level Delegation to Saudi Arabia
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 09:39:47 -0500 (EST)

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Obama Leads High Level Delegation to Saudi Arabia

Obama Leads High Level Delegation to Saudi Arabia

<p><b>Saudi Arabia:</b> President Barack Obama arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday at the head of a heavyweight delegation of senior members of his administration, as well as veterans of Republican White Houses, to pay respects to the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who died last week. The president <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;"  href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapQA5753>curtailed</a> his trip to India to meet with the oil-rich ally's new leader, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, who succeeded the 90-year-old King Abdullah.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The president <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;"  href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapRAb32f>will be joined</a> by Senator John McCain, his opponent in the 2008 presidential race, as well as former secretaries of state James A. Baker III and Condoleezza Rice. Secretary of State John Kerry, Director of the CIA John Brennan, and Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the head of the United States Central Command will also attend, among others.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Though the new king is <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;"  href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapSA60aa>not expected to change</a> the terms of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;"  href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapRAb32f>analysts say</a> he, like much of Saudi leadership, has been frustrated by what they see as a lack of American leadership in the Middle East in the Obama administration. The <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;"  href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapTA5642>naming</a> of the new deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, who was known for advocating an assertive foreign policy during his time as interior minister, has been seen as a signal of the kingdom's long-term vision for its role in the region.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Obama and King Salman are <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;"  href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapRAb32f>expected to discuss</a> negotiations with Iran and strategies for defeating the Islamic State during the president's four-hour stopover in Riyadh. &ldquo;It will be a chance for us to make sure that we&rsquo;re in good alignment going forward where we have overlapping interest,&rdquo; said Benjamin Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. &ldquo;I think you saw the king send a signal that he&rsquo;s committed to continuity in terms of Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s approach to those issues. But again, I think we&rsquo;re well placed to continue cooperation.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><b>Libya:</b> Militants attacked a luxury hotel in Tripoli that has been popular with foreigners, killing at least three and detonating a car bomb as people fled the gunfire. A <a style="font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;"  href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapUAc1c8>standoff with the gunmen</a> continued through Tuesday morning, according to the Associated Press. &nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>The hotel had British, Italian, and Turkish guests, but was reportedly largely empty, though the Tripoli-based al-Nabaa television channel claimed &ldquo;senior officials&rdquo; were inside at the time of the attack.</p>

<strong>Sponsored Message** ALL THE TOOLS FOR A REWARDING CAREER.</strong>   The Maxwell School’s master’s program in International Relations provides an unmatched combination of essential management and analytic skills, a strong theoretical foundation, and real-world workplace experience in organizations around the globe. <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414' href='http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMV818PoGFh3oKeKAbf79>Learn more</a>  
Americas

<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Argentina <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapVA0085>disbanded</a> its intelligence agency after the mysterious death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner announced Monday that she would draft a bill to replace it.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;The FBI arrested one man and forced two others to leave the country for allegedly running a <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapWA97f6>Russian spy ring</a> in New York.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Obama administration is expected to announce a proposal that would <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapXA495b>open up waters</a> from Georgia to Virginia for oil and gas drilling, while banning drilling in parts of Alaska's Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.&nbsp;</p>     
Middle East

<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;After four months of fighting, Kurdish forces <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeTmsPooQCeuZtWAdf7a>ejected</a> Islamic State fighters from the Syrian town of Kobani.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;An Egyptian court handed down the country's <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapYAf2c3>first-ever conviction</a> for female genital mutilation, sentencing a doctor to more than two years of hard labor after accidently killing a 13-year-old girl while performing the practice.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Conservatives in Iran's parliament are working on a resolution to deploy more centrifuges that can <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapZA3eb3>enrich uranium more quickly</a>, as the U.S. House of Representatives opens hearings about new sanctions.</p>     
Africa

<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;One of Mali's top military officials <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapaAcd71>survived an assassination</a> attempt with only minor wounds.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kenyan police <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapbAc853>clashed</a> with members of the Maasai ethnic group after thousands marched in an anti-corruption protest. At least one person was killed.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eleven people, including <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapcA7d55>five journalists</a>, were killed in South Sudan's Western Bahr el- Ghazal state when their convoy was attacked.</p>     
Europe

<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;At least 10 people were killed in Spain when a <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapdA2381>NATO F-16 crashed</a> during a training program.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;A British judge opened a <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapeA6c62>public inquiry</a> into the death of ex-KGB officer Alexander V. Litvinenko, who was poisoned in London in 2006.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;French police arrested five people in the southern town of Lunel for suspected involvement in a <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapfAe907>recruiting ring</a> for jihadi fighters in Syria.</p>     
Asia

<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;The recovery operation for the downed AirAsia flight QZ8501, which crashed in the Indian Ocean in December, has been <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapgA4acc>suspended</a>.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;A herder in China's Inner Mongolia <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuaphA1ca1>hung himself</a> outside of a government building in protest of the government's occupation of traditional grazing land.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&bull;&nbsp;&nbsp;President Obama pressed for India to commit to <a style='font-weight:bold;color:#ea1414;' href="http://link.foreignpolicy.com/5253172ac16bcfa46f6bd4c727v2h.211w/VMeiDsPooQCeuapiA1201>curbing greenhouse gas emissions</a> in the final speech of his visit.</p>     
- By Thomas Stackpole 

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