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The diplomatic outreach by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is receiving thin coverage. NBC previewed the trip with Andrea Mitchell in Washington on Monday. She focused on US efforts to encourage the kingdom to confront Iran. Now CBS has Sheila MacVicar in London focus on the second item on Rice's agenda--that the kingdom should warm up to Iraq. MacVicar listed the State Department's beefs with Saudi Arabia over Iraq: as many as 45% of all foreign-born insurgents in Iraq are Saudi nationals; King Abdullah characterized the US military presence in Iraq as "an illegitimate foreign occupation;" Riyadh does not even recognize the Baghdad regime. The Secretary, accompanied by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, extracted "a grudging agreement" from the King "to consider the possibility of renewed diplomatic relations with Baghdad." MacVicar commented sarcastically: "All it took was a visit by two US Cabinet secretaries and the promise of a $20bn arms deal."
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