US President George W. Bush welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to his Texas ranch on Monday seeking help to bring down soaring gas prices and promote peace in the Middle East.

Reuters
Bush and Abdullah walk through a patch of texas bluebonnet wildflowers on his ranch in Crawford.

Before Abdullah's arrival, Bush told reporters: "The crown prince understands that it is very important ... to make sure that the price is reasonable."

In their first meeting since the Spring of 2002, the two leaders discussed the war on terrorism at a time when Riyadh has been cracking down on Al Qaida, and Saudi Arabia's indispensable role in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, according to US officials.

A far cry from the tensions of 2002 when the Saudi Crown Prince had to face an angry Bush, who was about to invade Iraq. Today, the Saudis are in step with America's standards.

At their Monday meeting, the leaders also discussed democratic reforms in the Middle East, including parliamentary elections in Lebanon, officials said. The Saudi Crown Prince introduced Sa'ad Al Deen Hariri, the son of Rafik Hariri, who had accompanied him on the visit.

Analysts interpreted the introduction of the young Hariri to Bush as grooming the young Hariri for high political office in Lebanon, and getting Bush's endorsement, which apparently he did.

The focus, however, was oil according to James Paul, executive director of the Global Policy Forum.

He told Gulf News the visit was all about oil. Opec has been trying to lower oil prices to keep the markets stable but without success.

Worldwide demand is going up and supply cannot rise to meet it.

The US is thirsty for more; the markets in China and India are growing rapidly and market forces are driving prices higher and higher.

Paul says the administration's plans to control Iraqi oil and putting US and UK companies in charge have thus far been a failure. Exxon's profits are setting new records, but the world's energy future is bleak for which the oil giants are largely responsible.

In return, Bush seems willing not to pressure the kingdom more on reforms, democracy or human rights.

Although the Islamists triumphed in Saudi Arabia's recent nationwide vote, held to choose half the members of 178 municipal councils, the Bush administration is sensible to value the flow of oil over the democracy rhetoric.

Asaad Abu Khalil, author of the book The Battle for Saudi Arabia: Royalty, Fundamentalism, and Global Power, and professor in the Department of Politics at California State University is not surprised.

He says to the people of the region, this trip was not surprising.

It was a continuation of decades-old US policy of embracing convenient dictatorships, especially if they produce crude oil.

The writer is an Arab journalist based in Washington.