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President Obama knew he would receive a cool reception when he traveled to Saudi Arabia, Britain and Germany, but I don’t think he expected his trip would be this contentious.

The unfortunate aspect…this is largely a reflection of the president’s foreign policy and the many recent comments he has made about the countries he has now visited.

The troubles that the president faced on his overseas trip stem from comments he made to journalist Jeffrey Goldberg in “The Atlantic”, where he criticized our Gulf and European allies as “free riders” and not having “skin in the game” as it relates to Libya.

The other source of serious contention that our allies have had with President Obama is his lack of a coherent and credible foreign policy to defeat ISIS, with his statements that terrorism is merely a nuisance, something the west has to learn to accept.

Obama and Saudi Arabia See Different Threats to Middle East

Before the president traveled to Europe he first went to Saudi Arabia, where Riyadh’s relationship with the United States has been strained, controversial and contentious on a variety of issues, with the most controversial being the recent Iran nuclear deal.

The Saudi’s have felt that the president has tilted U.S. policy toward Iran during his presidency, and recent comments he has made cemented this viewpoint.  Even before he decided to run for the presidency, then State Senator Barack Obama called Saudi Arabia America’s so-called ally in a 2002 speech.

Even in an interview with NPR in December 2014, the president further cemented Riyadh’s ’view of his tilt toward Iran.  “They have a path to break through that isolation and they should seize it. Because if they do, there’s incredible talent and resources and sophistication inside of — inside of Iran, and it would be a very successful regional power that was also abiding by international norms and international rules, and that would be good for everybody. That would be good for the United States; that would be good for the region; and most of all, it would be good for the Iranian people.”

The security situation in the Middle East is viewed differently by both countries.  The U.S. views ISIS as the principle threat to the region, but Saudi Arabia views ISIS as a threat, but the more pressing issue for Riyadh is al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as its primary concern, which is largely centered in Yemen. This view point is shared equally as well with the other Gulf States, who view ISIS as a lesser threat.

The real threat to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States as seen by the region is Iran!

Military Analyst Anthony Cordesman, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, commented that Saudi Arabia sees Assad and Hezbollah as major threats to the Arab Sunni world, and as closely tied to Iran. It has seen the United States as indecisive and ineffective in supporting Arab rebel forces and checking Assad ever since 2012, as having failed to act decisively on its own red lines, as having failed to react or check Russian intervention in support of Assad, and as having been willing to accept a settlement that might well either divide Syria permanently or keep Assad in power. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Arab rebel forces, and the United States are improving their coordination, but Saudi experts are still deeply concerned that recent U.S. efforts to build up Syrian rebel forces with a larger U.S. advisory effort and heavier arms will come too late to be effective.

Again, the real division is the president’s willingness to seek accommodation with Iran, even when Tehran has been ratcheting up tension and expanding its influence, all the while the U.S. does nothing.

Obama’s ‘Brexit and Other European Dilemmas

Even our closest European allies have failed to provide a soft landing for the president as England felt his stinging rebuke by blaming British Prime Minister David Cameron for the debacle in Libya by failure to provide for its aftermath.

The president’s comments again failed him when he waded into the upcoming referendum on whether Britain remains in the European Union, or decides to pull out.

In a press conference with Prime Minister Cameron, the president insulted the British, America’s longtime ally by stating, “And on that matter, for example, I think it’s fair to say that maybe some point down the line, there might be a UK-U.S. trade agreement, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon, because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done, and the UK is going to be in the back of the queue — not because we don’t have a special relationship, but because, given the heavy lift on any trade agreement, us having access to a big market with a lot of countries — rather than trying to do piecemeal trade agreements is hugely inefficient.”

After the president wrapped up his trip in England he traveled to Germany to promote the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), but unfortunately he ran into a buzz saw, with thousands of protestors protesting their opposition to the deal. This is a far cry from the over 200,000 who cheered Obama back in 2008, before he was elected president.

By now the president can’t wait to get back to the White House.