Annual US-Gulf gathering treats Khashoggi death as mere speed bump in relations
The mood at this year’s National Council on US-Arab Relations conference was defensive but upbeat.
At the annual policy gathering of US and Arab leaders in Washington today, two participants got up to shake hands.
“How are you doing?” one asked. “About as well as you can be doing,” was the reply.
The exchange captured the mood at this year’s National Council on US-Arab Relations policymakers conference, a staple of Washington’s fall calendar since 1992. The usually bullish who’s who of US and Arab policymakers, defense and energy business leaders and academics was overshadowed by the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its impact on US-Saudi relations.
Despite the controversy, turnout on the first day of the two-day conference was “about the same” as in past years, James Zogby, a well-known pollster on Arab issues, told Al-Monitor. As the day went on and the ballroom filled up, with a rumored protest by women’s rights group Code Pink failing to materialize, speaker after speaker made the case that Khashoggi’s death should not — and would not — have much of a lasting impact on US-Gulf ties.
