


How tight are US-Saudi relations? Here is a clue. While former US President George Bush would publicly hold hands with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and even touch noses like birds before mating, his successor Barack Obama also made his first overseas trip to Saudi Arabia before he landed in Cairo for his now-forgotten speech delivered on June 4, 2009.
Long-simmering tensions between Riyadh and Washington about money flowing from Saudi charities to people and groups classified as “terrorist” by the US have once again erupted.