BFF? Not so much

I see what skdadl means -- while the New York Times is burying the news about the Saudi-US deal about "civilian nuclear technology" -- whatever that is -- other non-US media are headlining it - VOA News - Bush in Saudi Arabia for Nuclear Deal.
I also noted this illuminating paragraph about US- Saudi relations now, as said by John Alterman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

'This relationship has been unalterably changed partly by the events of September 11, partly by what's happened in Iraq, partly by a Saudi sense that the United States isn't nearly as competent as they thought,' said Alterman. 'And while there is no alternative to the United States, there is suddenly a need to hedge against U.S. incompetence. That changes the whole way these meetings go, and it changes what happens when the U.S. president says I really need you to do this.'

Hmmm - the rest of the world is taking steps to protect itself from US incompetence -- so who is actually holding who's hand now?