Washington (CNN)Finally, something went right for the United States in the Middle East. Relief is palpable in Washington over the well-planned and seamlessly executed transfer of Saudi Arabia's throne to King Salman bin Abdulaziz, 79, following the death of his 90-year-old half brother King Abdullah. The kingdom, despite signaling rare public dissent with the Obama administration over Iran and the Arab Spring, is a fulcrum of U.S. diplomacy in a region where Washington is struggling to adapt to dissolving national borders, chaotic change and sectarian carnage. Never mind that the U.S. is the world's foremost democracy and the transfer of power in Saudi Arabia was from one autocrat to the next.US relieved at succession plan roll-out after King Abdullah's deathSaudi Arabia a key anti-terror ally in volatile regionBut tensions still simmer with Riyadh over Iran 
 Question:"We know Salman well, he was governor of Riyadh for the better part of 50 years, he is well known to the _ government.
United States