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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/world/middleeast/11saudi.html
Influence of America's Closest Arab Allies Seen Fading
[New York Times] Michael Slackman - America's closest Arab allies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are increasingly viewed in the region as diminished actors whose influence is on the wane, political experts say. They have been challenged by Iran, opposed by much smaller Arab neighbors, mocked by Syria and defied by influential nonstate groups like Hamas and Hizbullah. "Egypt's role is receding regionally, and its cards are limited," said Emad Gad, an expert in international relations at the government-financed Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. "Saudi's role in the last ten years has declined," said Abdulkarim H. al-Dekhayel, a political science professor at King Saud University in Riyadh.