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  President-Elect Obama: Reactions - News Summary
Saudi king seeks sense of Obama policy on U.S. trip - Andrew Hammond - Reuters - "Wary about the direction of U.S. policy in the region, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah will have a chance to put out feelers to president-elect Barack Obama during a visit to the United States next week. The Saudi monarch and his delegation will attend a two-day United Nations session in New York on an "interfaith dialogue" he launched this year and then attend a summit of world leaders in Washington on the global financial crisis. "They will do their best to sound out what the president is going to be like, but these sorts of things always take time," said Saudi political analyst Khaled al-Dakhil. Obama's election pitch featured a promise to end U.S. dependence on Middle East oil within 10 years, open dialogue with Iran and a draw down of the U.S. presence in Iraq. Those all have the potential to deeply trouble the Saudi leadership, which has relied on an oil-for-security U.S. alliance since the 1940s that has survived regional upheavals and kept the Saud family in power against often tall odds. A message of congratulation from the 85-year-old king to Obama, 47, betrayed what was on the Saudi leadership's mind.."
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