The success of the Arab summit will depend on whether or not the Arab masses believe that Saudi Arabia is becoming less friendly with America.
The Arabs Are Coming
Let's say you're Saudi Arabia and you're stuck with a strategic regional rival, Iran, whose President keeps blaring anti-western rhetoric that the Arabs just love to hear. How do you confront such a rampant threat?
How about restoring Arabism from the freezer to frame this conflict as one between Arabs and non Arabs (read Persians), mixing in some make-believe anti-Americanism to bring back the hardliners from Iran's lap into the fold, while discretely reshaping the Arab project into a more moderate and progressive project to placate western countries?
Don't bother worrying about what seems like an American/Saudi rift. In fact, the louder the noise, the merrier.
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