ceremony was a chance for foreign dignitaries to greet his family including his success or salman bin abdulazizsaud. international leaders passed on their respects through statements. the kingdom of bahrain said: and u.s. president barack obama said: and a similar sentiment from the former president of israel. >> it is a real loss for the middle east and a real loss for the peace in the middle east. he was an experienced leader and a wise king. >> reporter: the u.n. secretary general said: an it's a legacy that standings out in saudi history, one his successor will have to choose how he will carry on. >> he unleashed a foreign policy that was far more dynamic interventionist and militant in some ways than any previous saudi king. he sent troops to bahrain to stop the uprising and this is very unusual for saudi leadership but this is one of the things that he has done. >> reporter: countries like qatar and bahrain have announced official periods of mourning but saudi arabia it's a following tradition, will not. and always in tradition, the former king will be buried in a family plot. >> let's ta

salman bin abdulaziz al saud has taken over. he is seen as a conservative and has promised to continue the policies of his predecessors. >> we will continue with god's grace and strength committed to the rightful approach followed by the state since its inception at the hands of the founder. >> king salman has a lengthy political career behind him. he served as defense minister and deputy prime minister. he will have to call on that experience as he faces numerous domestic and foreign policy challenges. >> one of the biggest challenges facing the saudi kingdom is the rise of radical jihadists, even within its own borders. let's bring in our security analyst from the german institute of international and security affairs. first of all, will this new saudi government increase its health of the west in its fight against the global jihad, and is it raising its own insurrection. >> the kingdom, i think, has shown that it wants continuity in its domestic and international relations or years to come, and in fact, it cannot do more than

president barack obama has arrived in saudi arabia to meet the new king salman bin abdulaziz al-saud.ma cut short his visit to india to pay respects to the king's family. sheehab from washington's point of view how significant is the trip? >> reporter: what we're hearing is this is not just an opportunity to pay respects to the late king but really to get a measure of the new king king salman to see what he wants to do now. there has been some [ inaudible ] about his state of health and there have long been rumors that he has dementia and long denied by saudi arabia. so it will be interesting to see his state of health. we see though that president obama has put together very hastily an enormous delegation to accompany him, including john kerry, various national security advisors, the commander of central command, various bipartisan members of congress john mccain, james baker, condoleezza rice so really an enormous delegation to show their respect. the topics we understand -- well they are pretty self explanatory, syria, iran saudi is unhappy with the negotiations with iran. yemen, a

president barack obama has now arrived in saudi arabia to meet the new king salman bin abdulaziz al-sauda cut short his visit to india, so he can pay his respects to the saudi royal family. now as the new king begins his reign, saudi arabia is facing several challenges. armed groups posing a threat along the kingdom's eastern border with iraq. an attack earlier this month left three border guards dead. and isil formally announced its desire to conquer saudi arabia. saudi arabia has been spending millions training rebels to try to overthrow president bashar al-assad. and then there's yemen with the rise of the shia houthi rebels that has lead to the fall of the government and regional rival iran is suspected of backing the houthis in yemen. that has played out not just in yemen, but also syria, lebanon, iraq as well as bahrain. let's seek to edward a professor of gulf and arabian peninsula affairs at the george washington university. so a lot for saudi arabia to be dealing with at this point, what is the reodd looking to get out of obama's visit? >> well i think this is a critical and a v

. >> reporter: prince salman bin abdulaziz al-saud is the next king of saudi arabia.ppointment was seen as shoring up the succession line. he is one of seven powerful brothers. they are the sons of the founder of saudi arabia all from the same mother. all of the remaining sons are over 75 years old. he was govern for nearly 50 years. during his tenure the saudi capitol grew into a major modern city. he attracted foreign investment and was seen as politically and economically aligned with the west and developed a network of relationships in arab and international circumstances. we was also appointed to the powerful national security council that oversees foreign policy security and intelligence. close to the religious establishment, he is not likely to introduce significant change. but at 79 years old, there are concerns about his ability to govern. he has rarely spoken in publish in recent years. saudi arabia's royal succession rules stip light the eldest and fittest among the king's brothers inherit the thrown. but once all of the sons of the king die, and the crown

bin abdulaziz. his body was covered with a simple cloth and he was buried salman proceeds him as the monarch. before the funeral, king salman broadcast a message to saudi arabia promising to maintain the same policies as his predecessor pr >> king abdullah had been a strong u.s. ally in a part of the world that holds a lot of challenges for the u.s. >> that's right. the saudis have been partners against islamic extremism and have a lot of economic power because of their oil reserves. "meet the press" moderator chuck todd joins us with more. how is this going to affect u.s. foreign policy? the saudis have been fairly disastrous keeping peace in that region. >> it's funny you say that. the saudi arabian/u.s. relationship is always described as tight and important, yet let's get down to brass tacks. it hasn't been as good. president obama has not been as friendly towards saudi arabia. i think there's been growing skepticism in washington and both parties about saudi arabia. they just simply exported their problems internally to the rest of the middle east. so there's been some friction on how to

bin nayef has been named new deputy crown prince. what do we know about the new ruler? >> prince salman abdulaziz's swift appointment was seen as shoring up the succession line in and avoiding a struggle for power. he's one of several powerful numbers. they are the suns of the founder of saudi arabia king abdullahziz, all from the same mother. they're all over 75 years old. he was governor of riyadh for 50 years. prince salman attracted foreign investment and was seen politically and economically aligned with the west. he became minister of defense in 2011, and was also appointed to the powerful national security council that oversees foreign policy, security and intelligence. socially conservative salman is not likely to introduce significant change. royal succession stipulates that the healthiest brothers inherit the throne. but the rules are not clear enough about complex situations. there are several grandsons of the king who may battle for power. prince salman is seen the most likely person to quell any dissent, whether he's able to rule a country with many citizens wanting change will be his

his half-brother, deputy prime minister salman is taking over assuming the throne, he assumed the throne shortly after abdullah bin abdulaziz'seath. the president of the american islamic forum for democracy and author of the book battle for the soul of islam. you are not shedding it here. you say america ones a new friend, you disagree? >> i look at this as a reformer someone who wants to see the transformation of the middle east with liberty and freedom and those are not words uttered by this family. the new king will be the same as the old king. ultimately the sad thing is kings die mercifully but daily if not weekly there are liberals who are trying to reform is long to stop the radicalization that may be an ally but abdallah oversaw countries that created the radical ideas of al qaeda that attacked us on 9/11, that attacked us at fort hood, continue to attack harris on and on. i see no moral difference between the terrorists in paris and the house of saud who torture muslims because of laws they have in the government that prevent reform necessaries for true modernization. charles: across the internet i even looked at the