Jordan’s King Abdullah visits the White House

President Barack Obama is set to meet with King Abdullah of Jordan today. This is his first major meeting with a leader from the Middle East and the leader is not Israeli. It has long been standard practice for U.S. Presidents to meet with Israeli leaders first, before reaching out to their Arab counterparts. Earlier this week Press Secretary Robert Gibbs described Jordan as a close ally and partner of the United States. But is this international friendship worth the risk of appearing to snub the Israeli government? For more we turn to the BBC’s Jonathan Marcus.