During President Barack Obama’s administration the U.S.-Saudi relationship has deteriorated due to mistrust and disagreement over Iran, Syria, and the U.S. commitment to Gulf security. Blunt comments by Obama in a recent article in The Atlantic have deepened these concerns.

This panel discussion examines what Obama and the GCC leaders achieved, respectively, at the April 21 U.S.-GCC summit to advance their agendas and shore up the partnership. What problems remain to be addressed? What long-term effects will the “Obama doctrine” have on U.S.-GCC relations? And how will the results of this summit shape the future of U.S.-GCC relations under the next U.S. administration?

Speakers:

Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, Professor of Political Science, Emirates University

Jeffrey Goldberg, National Correspondent, The Atlantic

Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (Moderator)