DivorceintheMaking?US-SaudiRelations'BendingTowardaBreakingPoint'

Strained relations between Washington and one of its key allies in the Middle East might well have outlived their usefulness and are "bending toward a breaking point," foreign affairs correspondent Michael Crowley asserted.

The relationship has been plagued by unresolvable issues, including the Iran nuclear deal and America's support of uprisings during the Arab Spring. It appears to be at an all-time low at the moment but it has never been too cordial or mutual.

"In his first encounter with King Abdullah at a London conference in April 2009, Obama was caught on camera appearing, to some eyes, to bow to the Arab leader. Conservatives taunted him for weeks for allegedly kowtowing to the monarch," Crowley noted in an article titled "Obama's royal pain."

Later that year, the then Saudi kingrefused to help Barack Obama to kick start the peace process between Israel and Palestine. The US president was unprepared for such a response, the journalist added, citing a former senior member of the Obama administration.

Nevertheless, "in September 2010, Obama approved a $60 million US arms package for the Saudis that would bolster a longtime military partnership," he detailed.

Obama's stance on the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 adversely affected the improving relations between Washington and Riyadh. The Saudi monarchy, according to Crowley, was "appalled" when the US president refused to back Hosni Mubarak, America's long-time ally.

Egyptian protesters gesture as they clash with riot police at Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square on November 19, 2011, as Egyptian police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up a sit-in among