UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband meeting the Saudi Foreign Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Saud al Faisal bin Abdul Aziz in London, 20 November 2008. Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Let us remind ourselves about the Saudi monarchs:
Aabdulaziz Ibn Saud, 1932-53, kept many concubines.
Saud, 1953-64, was a heavy drinker of alcohol. (Steve Coll, The Bin Ladens, 2008, page 60)
Faisal, 1964-75, was assassinated.
In 1973, the Nixon regime had a plan for a possible US attack on Saudi Arabia in order to grab its oil. (Who Really Wants to Invade Saudi Arabia, and Why?)
Khalid, 1975-82, was forced by ill health to have pro-American Prince Fahd as the real power behind the throne.
Fahd, 1982-2005, aided Reagan in Nicaragua.
After a request by the Reagan government, Fahd funneled "$1 million per month into a Cayman Islands bank account in support of ...the Contras" (Steve Coll, The Bin Ladens, 2008, page 10)
Abdallah
Abdallah became the power in Saudi Arabia in 1993 after Fahd had a stroke.
Abdallah "is not too deferential to American wishes." (Boomerang How our covert wars ...)
Abdallah privately threatened a temporary cutoff of oil exports because of U.S. support for Israel. (23 November 2009, Simon Henderson, of the Washington Institute, Inside the Saudi Succession)
On 7 October 2009, Robert Fisk, at The Independent (UK) wrote (Robert Fisk: A financial revolution.) "Saudi Arabia has been quietly co-ordinating its defence, armaments and oil policies with the Russians since 2007."
Bush and Bandar (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com/.../)
On 2 August 2009, it was reported that, in Saudi Arabia, a coup attempt by Prince Bandar has 'failed'
From P II: An American Pinay Circle, "Bandar has long been an ally, if not an asset, of the CIA."
Bandar was Saudi Ambassador to the USA.
"Between April 1998 and May 2002, some $51-73,000 in checks and cashier's checks were provided by the Saudi Ambassador to the United States and his wife to two families in southern California, who in turn bankrolled at least two of the 9/11 hijackers." (Prince Bandar and 9/11)
Prince Sultan
Who will succeed Abdallah?
Simon Henderson, of the Washington Institute, (Inside the Saudi Succession) relates:
Crown Prince Sultan's "reputation for corruption is judged to make him unpopular among the royal family as well as the kingdom's general population."
Prince Bandar is a son of Crown Prince Sultan. Bandar helped negotiate the 1985 Al Yamamah deal.
Nayef
If Prince Nayef succeeds, "the U.S.-Saudi relationship could become even more awkward."
He has "suggested that Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, was behind the September 11 attacks on the United States."
In August 2009, there was an attempted assassination of Prince Nayef. (Al-Qaida (CIA) stumbles in Saudi)
Prince Salman and Bush
Prince Salman is "well respected in the royal family and the wider population...
"He told the U.S. ambassador after the September 11 attacks that 'this has to have been a Zionist plot.'" (Inside the Saudi Succession)
Saud al-Faisal and Clinton
In 2003, U.S. ambassador Robert Jordan reportedly suggested that the succession should skip Sultan and Nayef and go to someone in the next generation, such as Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. (Inside the Saudi Succession)
Abdullah and Pakistan's President Zardari in Saudi Arabia
To whom will Saudi Arabia look for support?
"There is ... a prospect that Saudi Arabia will look to Pakistan for nuclear guarantees to supplement or replace U.S. security promises." (Inside the Saudi Succession)
Prince Saud al-Faisal and Rice
No comments:
Post a Comment