saudis want peace. the way the government is set up there is the royal family, the secular aspect of the government and the religious leaders. the saudis have problems to worry about in their country and this is why when the united states pressures the saudis with humanitarian forms to allow religious liberty and freedom, there is not a synagogue or christian church in saudi arabia. that is the capital offense. the united states wants to encourage reforms in saudi arabia. you need a good relationship with the secular government and you can encourage those reforms by having stability in the region and setting an example, making a powerful statement. >> first lady melania trump and daughter ivanka not wearing the head scarf, actions speak louder than words and that is a perfect example when you show up showing mutual respect, we will come the way we want and you come the way you want and nothing they respect more and showing confidence, showing power. >> power and confidence on our own principles. preside

ambassador to saudi arabia. they talked about president trump's upcoming visit to saudi arabia, the relations with gulf countries and spreading extremist views. this is an hour and 50 minutes. >>> ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us to day for this important and i believe very timely event. i'm the charp of chairman of the board offed middle east policy council. it's my privilege to welcome you here for this special program for examining counter terrorism efforts. we're especially pleased to be holding this program in collaboration with our friends at the gulf cooperation council. many of you know the middle east policy council through our four core activities. our journal which i brought a cop yif, middle east poll sichlt hopefully you're familiar with that. our capitol hill conferences which i'm sure many of you have attended, our educational outreach program teach mideast and our digital platform in particular our website which features a lot of current opinion information from the region. ch which

-saudi connection."he wrote an article last week headlined "10 reasons trump should not strengthen u.s.-saudi ties." welcome back to democracy now! talk about trumps trip to saudi arabia. >> it is appalling to see trump in saudi arabia, amy, touting when$110 billion arms deal you look at the history of how those arms have been used. in talked about their use devastating yemen. we also have the example of them crushing the democratic uprising in neighboring bahrain using those weapons to fund al qaeda groups in iraq and in syria, and using those weapons internally to crush dissent, particularly in the shia areas, which is happening right now the saudi e that is getting absolutely no price and the united states. so congress does have the right to him and i would say the armsation, to stop these deals. it did not do it under obama. it is time they do it under trump. they will only do it if we the people put pressure on congress to say no weapon sales to the present regime of saudi i arabi. amy: and the fact

the reset in saudi arabia. what the saudis need to hear from president trump on his first foreign visit and why it's so different this time around than when president obama visited there. >>> the author of a new op-ed on that very topic joins me next. thank you! imagine if the things you bought every day earned you miles to get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag, 2 united club passes... priority boarding... and 50,000 bonus miles. everything you need for an unforgettable vacation. the united mileageplus explorer card. imagine where it will take you. before fibromyalgia, i was a doer. i was active. then the chronic, widespread pain drained my energy. my doctor said moving more helps ease fibromyalgia pain. she also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. woman: for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel bett

saudi intelligence, saudi arabian cooperation with israel, very quiet, but there, saudi cooperation with us on the ground. who are the major players? what do we have to be worried about? we need each other in this fight, there is no decimating isis without the help of saudi arabia and the saudis have to do more to keep their own wealthy citizens in check when they write large checks to the very organizations that are undermining us and threatening our way of life. >> that's sort of what we were talking about, how much leverage does the administration have with the saudis. judy, quickly though, it's great for us in-- we've often heard president trump talk so much on the campaign trail about isis, about radical islam, but to liz's point, if you spend time over there, as i did recently, much of the arab world, the sunni arab world of which saudi arabia is the home and the founder state of now, they're much more worried about iran than they are about isis as a threat. they're much more looking to the united states for strength and weapon and counter balance to iran than isis. what is the bal

ambassador to saudi arabia. this is just under two hours. >> >> good afternoon and thank you for joining us today for this important and i believe very timely event. my name is richard surer. i'm the chairman of the board of the middle east policy counsel. and it's my privilege to welcome you to this special program on examining counterterrorism efforts. we're pleased to be holding this program in friendsation with our council.lf policy our educational out reach program and our digital platform and in particular our website which features a lot of current opinion from the region which is one of our betterette features. we're especially pleased to have such a distinguished panel of speakers to address this topic. our key note speaker is his excellency ambassador arabian p representative to the united nations. he has served since 2011. prior to this posting, he had a distinguished career in public and private sector. among the many positions he has held has been member of saudi arabia's sure counsel. mayor of jett

-saudi partnership. as he just described, today truly is a historic moment in u.s.-saudi relations. from the states and the kingdom of saudi arabia are really dedicating themselves to a new strategic partnership for the toy first century. we are charting a new cut for a peaceful middle east for economic develop an trade, diplomacy, hallmarks of the regional mobile engagement, something we will be working closely together on. this growing partnership is really grounded in trust. trust between our two nations that we are pursuing the same objectives . cooperation and share interest. this declaration that were signed today, the joint strategic vision, there were many elements and there is a lot of work to implement those elements and put them into motion. that is going to require significant ongoing engagement and dialogue between our two nations. i think you will find that we will be meeting with a great deal of regularity in order to review how these things are progressing and that is only going to serve to further strengthen our cooperation. also i think, it sends a strong message t

-saudi relations. america,d states of the kingdom of saudi arabia, are really dedicating ourselves to a newstrategic partnership, for the 21st century, and charting a renewed toward a peaceful middle east where economic development, trade, diplomacy, are hallmarks for regional and global engagement and something we will be working closely together on. this growing partnership is really grounded in trust. trust between our nations that we are pursuing the same objectives -- cooperation and a shared interest. the elements of this declaration that were signed today, the joint strategic vision -- there are many, many elements, and there is a lot of work now to implement those elements and really put them into motion, so that is going to require significant ongoing engagement twodialogue tween our nations, so i think you will find that we will be meeting with a great deal of regularity in order to review how the things are progressing, and that is only going to serve to further strengthen, i think, our coop

saudi arabia indicates how weak and uninfluential saudi arabia is.o a president who's tanking at home and who's international reputation is in tatters indicates this is a country whose foreign policy is basically entirely failed. secondly, i would just say to viewers, islam is not a religion that's organized. saudi arabia does not represent islam. no country actually represents islam. there's nothing to that. saudi arabia failed in the middle east, it has few sprends or allies, and it's basically burning through it's oil wealth trying to bolster it's position in the region. and donald trump is not going to make this better, he's going to make it worse. we're all as americans and people throughout the world going to be victims of the extremism that he's going to make worse. as an american muslim, that comes back to me. he should not be going to saudi arabia to talk about islam, he should apologize to americans who are muslims, for insulting our religion because he's the president of the united states of america, not saudi arabia. >> all right. haroon,

the saudis have put that to one side. the speech here, needs to be you wansed when he delivers a message that says, the leers of the arab and muslim cubs here, need to put forth a more peaceful and tolerant image of islam. certainly, the leaders believe they are. trump's visit here will break a record, in his visit to saudi arabia will be the longest of any president. president bush in 200 w8 was he. president trump will exceed his visit by a couple of hours. and also, when president obama came here a year ago and the contrast for the rollout and reception that we're seeing being built up at the airport today, compared to last year when president obama came. i remember the reporting when president obamarrived was saudis didn't send senior enough representatives to the airport to meet and greet with him. the fact that king salman is out at the airport. he may not be in the swielterin heat. he may be in a v.i.p. reception area. but absolutely, this is a warm welcome. the pictures of king salman next to president trump on th

saudi history, $300 billion, creating thousands of jobs in saudi and in the u.s..cey: what does saudi arabia want in return? ron,otection against the protection against iran. --protection against iran. tracey: we heard the saudi foreign minister saying when it comes to iran he wants to cds and not words. >> iran is not only making problems on the nuclear deal, it is interfering in yemen and lebanon. tracey: does the u.s. have the capability to do that unilaterally? >> it is going to be the russians and the chinese but they can lead. >> i just recall the moment former president barack obama was on the ground in cairo, egypt and gave his speech into the arab world. how is this speech going to be different than the last time around? we saw the u.s. president give a speech with a lot of ambition but delivered very little in terms of policy change. >> it all starts haply, let's ends happily. it started with apathy about was happening in the arab spring. so far it is good but we are early days. brought up the obama administration. trump was very critical of the obama adm

welcome to the kingdom of saudi arabia. congratulations on an extremely productive visit. >> thank you and thank all of you for being here this evening and in particular i want to thank my longtime friend and colleague, the foreign minister. we've known each other for many years when our facial features were much younger. we remember those days but we have remained friends for all these many years and now colleagues. really proud to be here today with him to talk about this in the strengthening of the u.s.-audi partnership and relationship -- u.s.-saudi relationship. -- a is a story moment historic moment. the united states and the key number of saudi arabia are dedicating ourselves to a new strategic partnership and charting a new towards a peaceful middle east where economic development, trade, the premises are hallmarks of regional and global engagement and something we will be working together on. this growing partnership is really grounded interest. trust between our two nations that we are pursuing the same objectives

, saudi counterterrorism official and former us ambassador to saudi arabia. the event was hosted by the middle east policy council. >> distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and you for joining us today for this important and timely event. my name is richard shamir, i am chairman of the board of middle east policy council and it is my privilege to welcome you here to this special program on examining counterterrorism efforts was we are pleased to be holding this program in collaboration with our friends at the cooperation council. many of you know the middle east policy council, our journal which i brought a copy of, middle east policy, hopefully you are familiar with that. our capitol hill conferences which many of you attended our educational outreach programs that teach middle east and in particular our website which features a lot of current opinions from the region which was one of our better features. we are pleased to have the distinct panel of speakers with us today to address this topic. our keynote speaker is his excellency ambas

we begin at the saudi royal court at where the king of saudi arabia hosted a ceremony and later honored president trump with the nation's highest civilian honor. >> in appreciation of the historical close bonds between the kingdom of saudi arabia and the united states of america, and in appreciation of his , for president donald trump, the president of the united states of america, his effort to strengthen the relationships between the two countries in various fields and his quest to enhance security, stability, and peace in the region and the world, the custodian of the two mosques, confers the medal, the highest medal from the kingdom of saudi arabia on president donald trump of the united states. [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] >> next, live, your calls and comments on washington journal. and then newsmakers with rhode island congressman jim. ,'s -- oninth court president trump's travel ban. book,ight, on q&a, in his "the fine mess," the author takes a look at comparative tax systems around the world. >> i went to the imf and asked who had a good tax code. and they know. they

welcome to saudi arabia. the president clearly enjoying the day and he is at the palace right now which is north of riyadh where he's going to have a big banquet celebration. you can hear drumming and chanting. what is going right there at the palace is something called the. [inaudible] this is a traditional sword dance, dance by men for the most part, it's not exclusively by men but it's an old saudi war dance which is now a dance of celebrations and weddings at the like. today is surrounded by, second ago, this $110 billion arms agreement between the united states and saudi arabia involving a big american companies like general electric, lockheed martin, and others. one of the saw things the saudi wants to buy is the missile defense system. now the saudis want one. it's a high altitude defense that gets ballistic missiles and the necessity of that was driven home as we touched down here on friday night when rebels in yemen fired a ballistic missile at riyadh and it was brought down by an antimissile system

in saudi arabia.s is his first overseas trip since taking office. >> saudis say they are honored their country is the first stop on the president's first overseas trip. >> he is placing the united states back on the world stage as a global leader promoting security. >> bombshells before the president left. reports that a white house official close to president trump is a quote person of interest in the russia investigation. >> there is a big difference and a long distance between that and being the subject of an investigation. even bigger distance to being the target of an investigation. >> garbage. these are quote, bombshells. no, they are not. they are just more of the left wing hatred for trump. >> american public will soon be able to hear directly from the former fbi director james comey. this is going to be much watched tv. >> long time harvard law professor allen dershowitz says special counsel could vindicate trump. >> no one could point me to a statute that could be violated. >> majority of tr

saudi arabia is a key to that. we should not sell that short merely because, in fact, at one point or another one may see the saudi arabian relationship at this day and stage as the primary result of the trip. it has to be put into a broader middle eastern balance. this is a very challenging and demanding task. >>> ambassador, i also want to ask you about a report in "the new york times" describing the exchange that took place between president trump and russian diplomats the day after fbi director comey was fired. he told the officials, i just fired the head of the fbi. he was crazy. that's taken off. you were also ambassador to russia. how unusual is this scenario? >> well, in private talks, presidents, national security advisers and secretaries of state have always wanted to create and curry leverage. leverage is important in a relationship with russia in particular. so it's not, i think, out of the question that the president was more intent in selling leverage than he was worried about the potential for leaks

to saudi arabia and enhance our economy and enhance american investments in saudi arabia which already are the largest investments of anyone. the custodian of the mosques and president trump had a very, very good and wide ranging conversation, they discussed, of course, the challenges facing the region and the world, they began by talking about the bilateral relationship in ways to enhance it and improve it in all areas. they discussed this scourge of terrorism, extremism, terror financing and how we can work together to eradicate it. they discussed the nefarious activities of iranhe

thought out and coordinated attacks on combounds, westerners, saudy p saudy. and we had various westerners specifically targeted and killed. the most famous that time was paul johnson who was a contractor for one of the large u.s. defense contractor who was kidnapd and beheaded on youtube. so this was a very difficult environment. the u.s. -- sorry the saude security forces were having run gun battles in the streets with al qaeda insurgents and this was all topped off at the end of end of 2004. so i'm sure everybody here knows about benghazi. the fact four americans were killed in benghazi. not many know the u.s. consulate in saudi arabia was over run by terrorists and nine people were killed. this left a permanent scar on the state department and our diplomatic security people. so when i arrived in 2007 i found a security environment that really reflected the events of the past and i worked very hard to change that and we were successful in doing that. so i spent a lot of my time as ambassador in thor interior i would visit twice a week. and one of the things

we want to thank you and saudi arabia.undreds of millions of dollars of investments into the united states and jobs, jobs, jobs. >> good day, i'm sheinelle jones at msnbc world headquarters in new york. it's 1:00 in the east, 10:00 out west and more breaking news at this hour. secretary of state rex tillerson and his counterpart, the foreign minister of saudi arabia, wrapped a news conference a short time ago where they talked about the security agreement and the two countries' shared efforts to fight terror. >> the kingdom of saudi arabia are embarking on a number of new initiatives to counter violent extremist messaging. sends a very strong message to our common enemies. it strengthens the bonds between us and it does chart this new pathway forward and will guide our path forward. >> all of this after a day of elaborate ceremonies and meetings for president trump. after a formal greeting outside the saudi palace, the president received a medal from the royal delegation. the saudis rolling out the red carpet for the presi

saudi arabia is against the law.ip to the capitol began with open bar at a luxurious hotel with some retired generals seemed to know a lot about the justice against sponsors of terrorism law. folders were handed out claiming the law was disastrous for veterans. then came an odd announcement, cord says, from this man, organizer jason johns, a veterans' advocate. tim cord: jason johns stood up and he said, "thank you all so much for coming. i know there's a lot of rumors going around, but we can assure you there's no saudi money behind this." i don't think any of us, at least at my table, had even thought about the saudis. it was just kind of a weird statement to make opening night. sharyl: things got stranger the next day when they visited senate offices to promote supposed improvements to the justice against sponsors of terrorism law. cord says he began to feel like he was being used to lobby for some hidden interest, and he says his suspicions were confirmed that night by a drunk confession from an organizer. tim rd

>> oh, i think the saudis are committed to this., the extremists are against the royal family. they would like to overthrow them. so you take this toechnology an they're looking for key words, for statements, for particular quotes, sayings of the prophet and so forth and they identify these people and they, you know, if they're violently, you know, inclined, they arrest them. if they're being converted to extremism, they continue to reeducate them. i think the saudis have learned their lessons from the attacks in 2003 and it is encouraging and the crown prince is very, very close to washington. he's done his best. at the same time, saudi arabia is sitting on something of a l volcano. there's still violence there. americans are still being targeted and the saudis are doing the best they can to stabilize. this look at it this way. the problem, fred, is all the violence around saudi arabia which should worry us. syria. iraq. lebanon. yemen, of course. so they're getting it from all sides. and, you know, i've been very critical of saudi

his visit in saudi does determine so much, butjust for the saudi society but for the muslim communityank you forjoining us out tomorrow. thank you forjoining us here in riyadh. as they won of this first visit is coming to an end, you can hear the helicopters in the sky, very tight security here in riyadh, tight control as well over what kind of comments president trump will make. they want to make sure he keeps to the script, his speech tomorrow about islam and countering extremism has been very carefully crafted because as we have said, it is notjust the elephant in the room, it is elephant in riyadh. we will continue to watch the are releva nt we will continue to watch the are relevant here. —— the developments here. president trump and king salman of saudi arabia sign multi—billion—dollar contracts in riyadh, described as the biggest single am still in us history. there's a disagreement within labour after shadow foreign secretary says the party could abandon its support for trident. meanwhile the tories defend their pledge to cut net migration after it's criticised by former chanc

why saudi arabia? >> because you are fighting isis and trying to counter iranians, ambitions aggressions in the region. you want not arab country, the custodian of the two holy mosques, the heart of sunni islam. to get the world's largest oil producer on your side. the israelis were a little bit uncomfortable, but they understood it, they are second, and this is a very important moment and a very important decision. judge jeanine: what do you think of the fact that the first lady did not wear any head covering, what does it say? >> michelle obama did not wear head covering. under sunni islam, foreign women who are not muslims do not have to cover their hair or wear a veil. when i worked there for the first gulf war and the second gulf war, i was not required to dress that way. i think as a woman, though, you have to be aware of the huge gap that remains still between western human rights standards and that country. even though they have made progress, they have a long, throng way to go. but this trip i

-saudi bombing campaign. so when responsibility inside yemen is attributed for this starvation campaign, it is placed upon the united states as well as on saudi arabia. and we have to think about what that means given the fact that there is the potential for millions of yemenis to be radicalized in a place with very sophisticated radical infrastructure. that's a real national security concern for the united states. and so i think it's time for us to draw a hard line with this coalition and that we will not continue to support it if there is not real commitment made to change the way that targeting has happened and to make sure that relief supplies can flow that that country to try to address this unfolding famine and humanitarian catastrophe. we can allies with the saudis. we can be military allies with the saudis, but they have to understand -- and their partners need to understand -- that this humanitarian nightmare inside yemen, it's both immoral to participate in a campaign that perpetuates that kind of h

coy chaired by united states and saudi arabia. and joined by every member of the gulf cooperation counsel. it and i historic stip in a day that will be long remembered, i also applaud the gulf cooperation council for blocking funders from using their countries as a financial base for terror. and for designating hezbollah as a terrorist ong oanization saudi arabia also joined thus week in placing sanctions on one of the most senior leaders of hezbollah. there is still much work to be done. that means confronting the crisis of islamic extremism and islamic terror of all kinds. we must stop what they are doing to inspire. they do nothing to inspire but kill. and we are having a very profound affect if you look at what is happened w happen emplod recently, it means standing it against persecution of jews and caughter of christians, religion leaders must make this clear. ba.if you choose the paths of terror, your life will be empty, your life will be brief. and your soul will be fully condemned. and political leaders must speak out to

for every saudi plane, every saudi ship the date of purchase that goes to the persian gulf or the redea, that's a us navy vessel. that's a full navy crew that doesn't have to be overseas. that's a jet pilot, that means a lot of americans can be home with their families because the saudi's have more equipment, capability and training to step up, protect their own borders, protect the middle east and stand against iranian influence. most important, if more americans at home with their families. arthel: how critical is saudi arabia in a successful fight against isis and internet tradition to reducing the burden on the us military to conduct counterterrorism operations there in the region? how well does this deal benefit the us? >> saudi arabia has incredible influence of the middle east. as you know, they are the protectors of the seed of islam. their ability to project power in the persian gulf and the red sea and to step up and lead is required a coalition of sunni, arab allies together to put down growing iranian influence. it's very, very important. as you know, for eight years are e

/saudi relations. the united states of america, the kingdom of saudi arabia are really dedicating ourselves to a new strategic partnership, new for the 21st century and to charting a renewed path toward a peaceful middle east where economic development, trade, diplomacy are hallmarks of the regional and global engagement and something that we will be working closely together on. this growing partnership is really grounded in trust. trust between our two nations that we are pursuing the same objectives. cooperation and a shared interest. the elements of this declaration that was signed today, the joint strategic vision, there are many, many elements and there is a lot of work now to implement those elements and really put them into motion, so that is going to require significant ongoing engagement and dialogue between our two nations. so i think you will find that we will be meeting with a great deal of regularity in order to review how these things are progressing. that is only going to serve to furthe

i think the saudi's have been dealing with the u.s. and even the younger saudi's have 30 years of experience in dealing with u.s. officials. there is an amazing degree of continuity and experience in dealing with the bakeries of american politics which can be of americanvagaries politics which can be vague. what is hard to predict at this point is how well the president has been briefed, how clearly he will deal with the burden, i have to say i may or may not -- i was part of the nato force planning exercise several centuries ago and i think this whole 2 percent and are mutuallyal ridiculous. ,f you look at what they buy you cannot find any explanation percent willt 2 do. 20% means a country will spend defensesubsidizing its industry and the record today on your pink operation -- on european cooperation is it is remarkably expensive and remarkably inefficient. i mentioned saudi arabia's defense spending, it is about $57 billion in 2016. woody think russia's would be, u.s. isarly when the spending something like 600 billion. according t

because at best we are extorting the saudi's. at best. at worst, we are now their mercenary in the middle east because, as robert gates said and wikileaks showed, the saudi's are willing to fight down to the last american. there are a lot of unanswered questions related to the trip that took place in saudi arabia and the new framework or architecture for security that is trying to be set up. the last thing i would say about the saudi trip that is very troubling to me and that i guarantee you almost all of my former colleagues in the u.s. government agree with is that durable solutions to complex requires the buy-in of every country with the capacity to wreck the solution. just like you can't solve regional security problems without the united states of table or without the israelis at the table, you can't solve it without iran at the table. if you exclude any of those actors, iran, america or anyone else, it incentivizes the excluded party to disrupt, dismantle and destroy the process they are not a part of. so again, if you are

i would have recommended that over saudi arabia.f islam that's being practiced there. you've got a king who's a rock star in my opinion who really is potentially the vanguard of a new islam in the middle east. so i would have preferred that, but here we are. >> and the president's position seems to be when it comes to this, one, saudi arabia will be our partner against isis and also against iran. and, two, they're buying a whole bunch of our stuff and that's great for america and that will be jobs, jobs, jobs. to quote him. but these ideas, these nuanced discussions we're having about ways to encourage more moderate islam, whether in indonesia or jordan, the importance of standing up for human rights, they do seem, and again we'll hear the speech in a few minutes, but they do seem to be falling by the wayside. >> that's right. and that's where we're all expressing different levels of concern. if you're the white house and you're thinking about where to do a speech, you could argue, you go saudi arabia because that's where there's a

president here on saudi soil.g that you did not see when president obama came to saudi arabia. very, very different tone and welcome for president trump here today, guys. >> yeah, jim accosta, for pointing all of that. the cameras have been capturing it and our cameras have been capturing the key moments of the trump administration on this, the president's first overseas visit. one of the most remarkable moments was starting with the saudi arabian kingdom at a moment of signing. >> uh-huh, yeah, the biggest moment there was the signing this $110 billion arms deal we've been talking about. jim, thank you so much. >>> president trump says this is going to supply the kingdom with weapons, with tanks. and at the same time, create jobs for americans in the u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson as we said is going to be meeting with his counterpart just moments away, we understand, they are going to take to the podium, so we will take that live as soon as it happens. but quite a big contingent that has followed the pres

the president is here in saudi arabia meeting with the king of saudi arabia, and they did as you said a few moments ago roll out the red carpet for the president and first lady, the president's first family and just about every top official from the trump administration here on the ground in saudi arabia. we want to call attention to viewers something interesting that occurred during some of the interactions between the president and the king. the king was at one point caught on camera making some remarks about the civil war in syria to president trump. at one point he said syria, too, used to be one of the most advanced countries, we used to get our professors from syria, they served our kingdom. unfortunately they brought destruction to their own country. you can destroy a country in mere seconds but it takes a lot of effort. just goes to show you in these interactions the cameras are rolling. not exactly a tremendous gap there on the part of the saudi king, but one of those impromptu candid moments that can be caught on camera. you can hear that the president and saudi king were ta

seen co—operation with saudi and containment of confrontation with iran.ration pursued a different approach to engage with iran, which was ultimately not successful. the trump administration is going back to a traditional us policy to the persian gulf. what is likely to be the reaction of iran and the revolutionary guards who seem to be the force leading iranian policy across the region, if there are more sanctions against iran, how would iran respond? iranian foreign policy in the middle east has been remarkably consistent for the last four decades, there have been three pillars, hostility towards the united states, rejection of israel's existence, and rivalry with saudi arabia, which has intensified. i don't think that will change president trump's policies. but if there is more confrontation between america and iran in the middle east, whether that is in syria or yemen, it could indirectly help to unravel the nuclear deal, which would be a real national—security concern for the united states and the us partners in signing the nuclear deal — europe, russ

the saudis were critical of it as well. the saudis felt that the obama administration had kind of taken their eye off of the arabs in the middle east, off the saudis in the gulf states in particular. they're very worried about the increasing influence of iran. they see them creating terrorism south of their border, creating terrorism north of their border, and certainly, the president responded likewise in his speech, saying that, you know, iran is a big contributor to terrorism in the region. that's significantly different from president obama. but the other big thing there that's different is that in this region they felt that president obama abandoned them and president trump is very, very clear, our friends don't need to worry, we will support them. that was a very, very powerful message which really does show that turn, particularly in this region. it resonates, dave. >> and after the speech, iran's foreign minister blasted trump, of course, on twitter. nic robertson, thanks very much. >>> all right, questions this mor

that is extorting the saudis. at worst, we are saudi arabia's mercenary in the middle east because as robert gates said and wikileaks show the saudis are willing to fight to the last american. there are a lot of unanswered questions related to the trip that took place in saudi arabia and the new framework or architecture or security that is trying to be set up. last thing i would say about the saudi trip that is troubling to me that i guarantee you almost all of my former colleagues in the us government agree with is durable solutions to conflict requires every country with the capacity to find a solution. just like you can't fall regional security problems without the united states at the table or the saudis at the table are israelis at the table you can't solve without iranians and if you exclude any of those actors whether iran, america or anyone else it incentivizes the excluded party to disrupt, dismantle or destroy the process they are not a part of. if you're excluding any actor, what am i working towards?

across saudi arabia. we had a large bomb go off right next to the ministry of interior building and we had various westerners specifically targeted and killed. the most famous at the time was paul johnson who was a contractor for one of the large u.s. defense companies in saudi arabia who was kidnapped and beheaded on youtube. so this was -- this was a very difficult environment. the u.s. -- sorry, the saudi security forces were having running gun battles in the streets of riyadh with al qaeda insurgents and this was all topped off at the end of 2004 with an attack on the u.s. consulate in jed da. i'm sure everybody here knows about benghazi. the fact that four americans were killed in benghazi. not many people know that the u.s. consulate in saudi arabia was overrun by terrorists in december and nine people were killed. so, this left a permanent scar on the state department and particularly on our diplomatic security people. so when i arrived in 2007, i found a security environment that really reflected

/saudi relations. the united states of america, the kingdom of saudi arabia are dedicating ourselves to a new strategic partnership, new for the 21st century. and charting a renewed path toward a peaceful middle east. where economic development, trade, diplomacy, are hallmarks of the regional and global engagement, something we will be working closely together on. this growing partnership is really grounded in trust. trust between our two nations that we are pursuing the same objectives. cooperation and a shared interest. the elements of this declaration that was signed today, joint strategic vision, there are many, many elements, and there's a lot of work now to implement those elements and really put them into motion and so that is going to require significant ongoing engagement and dialog between our two nations and so i think you will find that we will be meeting with a great deal of regularity in order to review how these things are progressing and that is only going to serve to further strength o

the united states is now doubling down on saudi arabia as some of these headlines said, taking the saudis' side in a regional rivalry in which a lot of people even within if foreign policy believe the united states doesn't really have a dog in that fight particularly ot a pleasant fight. the caller points to something really important. the vast majority of international terrorism that we're seeing, particularly the jihadi terrorism is inspired to a certain extent funded by wahabi. many coming out of saab. the core of isis is its faudies fighters. the previous administration made it public that the money that went to isis, that went to creet isis came out of saudi arabia. only days after president trump s in reyad and talks about fighting terrorism we had another fighter blow himself up at a concert in manchester killing scores of young people there dancing and having fun. if you take a look at the state department and terrorist groups the u.s. state department of terrorists, i believe it's two of them that are shia nature that have some connections to iran. the u.s. se the vast majority a

shery: inside the shrinking of the saudi -- thinking of the xiaomi -- saudi stop market, we talk with a ceo. yousef: it is 5:00 a.m. in london. shery: i am in hong kong. we are seeing investors be more conscious ahead of the fed meeting and also the jobs report out of the u.s.. a few markets are closed in asia. hong kong, japan, and south korea. for those that are trading, take a look at this function on the bloomberg. you can see australia is leading the declines. remember, only after seven days of rallies for the australian market. we are seeing the aussie dollar lose point for mark -- .4%. japan is on holiday for the -- rest of the week. just to keep -- -- you have to keep an i on the japanese yen. treasuries not trading in asia today. japan is closed. yields fell overnight. we are seeing the sovereign debt market across asia. we are also seeing oil rebounds after a drop to its lowest in a week. yousef: absolutely. in this part of the world, they kingdom was holding a wide ranging interview. a rare conversation with the deputy crown prince. he has been spearheading vision 2030. let

you were just a saudi arabia.if they are pleased that the president's name is trump and not obama? >> i think the best thing that the president has going for him right now gregg is that he is not barack obama. but the saudi's are extremely excited about this trip. you see flags lining the streets.alternately saudi american flags. you see billboards with the president's picture on them next to a picture of the king. they have high expectations for not only the trip but i think for the rekindling of a relationship that has been very important to them since 1945. >> you know mr. trump will be making a very important speech on islam and as we understand the need to more effectively confront radical ideology. what do you think he needs to say? >> i think he needs to point out that the islamic faith is a legitimate respectable faith. and that those who commit terrorist acts in the name of islam are deviance and are really not properly representing the islamic faith. this is certainly what the studies will tell you as we

talking to very senior saudi officials you have to say that saudi arabia is obsessed with iran and itsut it's not clear that even a neighbouring states in the persian gulf would be ready to put the kind of pressure on iran that saudi arabia wants to do. what's your assessment? saudi arabia sees this as an existential battle, it isn't a normal rivalry, one of them isn't a normal rivalry, one of them isa isn't a normal rivalry, one of them is a status quo power and iran is a revolutionary power. despite the moderate noises the iranians make in english to the media, the supreme leader and revolutionary guard who really run iran, irrespective of the elections that are put together, it has been a revolutionary regime, talking about taking down the saudi monarchy for the last a0 years. a lot of golf nations share that. they are closer to iran and they feel more vulnerable, so they have to be careful. there is a consensus that it is an existential battle with this iranian regime. the fact that america sees it the same way is extremely reassuring. what is the risk of a confrontation? strongly

in saudi arabia.xt few hours. he will travel with the president. the unflappable john roberts in. five. thank you. liz. elizabeth: back to domestic news. tractor comey's first public appearance is being five from the job will be the fourth decided committee in an open hearing. tommy will testify between the into russian interference in the 2016 election. he joins us with more on what we can expect. >> lawmakers have a lot of questions for james call me. certainly on the investigation into russia but separately one of the biggest questions will be about new reports that the president asked him to end the fbi's investigation into former security advisor michael flynn. that report by the new york times this week cited a personal memo comey wrote shortly after meeting with president in february. it's also important to note that comey never mentioned this memo or any concerns about it until lawmakers when he testified last month on capitol hill. this morning on fox and friends liberal law professors said t

he'll be traveling, first, to saudi arabia. and then he'll go on to israel, the vatican for a meeting with pope francis and, finally, to the nato summit in belgium. the president and vice president also taking part later today in a ceremony for fallen police officers. they'll be offering remarks and laying a wreath at the police memorial. we'll have live coverage starting here at is 11. and also the senate meeting at 3:00 today, working on transportation department nominationings. live coverage here on c-span2. >> thanks for everyone here who came on time, and i just want to give brief introduction. my name's colin quinn, i'm the deputy director of communications here at csis. >> thanks very much, colin. normally when a president goes to israel, you have a very pleasant public profile, and usually an announcement of some new form of usaid or assistance to israel. the problem you have here is there's also a lot of underlying issues. and how many of these were actually either be dealt with publicly or during a presidential visit