Trumplomacy: Five takeaways from Pompeo trip to Middle East

The US secretary of state's seven-day tour of the Middle East was an effort to reassure Washington's allies about the US withdrawal from Syria and draw the region together against Iran.

On the heels of abrupt changes in President Donald Trump's Middle East game plan, Mike Pompeo visited Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.

After accompanying the secretary of state on part of this rapid round of diplomacy, here are my key takeaways.

1. Mohammed Bin Salman is here to stay

Riyadh is different than when I last visited three years ago.

The power of the religious police has been curbed - some women have even traded black abayas for more colourful cloaks, and taken off their headscarves.

True, that's only in very small numbers, but the change is striking.

Women are now allowed to drive; they're being actively recruited into the workforce; and they sit next to men at the cinema and at rock concerts - forms of public entertainment that until recently were banned, yet are now being promoted by the government.

Women to whom I spoke gave credit to the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

One told me she'd been worried that he'd lose power because of the international backlash over the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.