Saudi King Fahd Dies

[A4sForever]

Saudi King Fahd Dies in Riyadh Hospital
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Aug 1, 3:34 AM (ET)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, who moved his country closer to the United States but ruled in name only since suffering a stroke in 1995, has died, the Saudi royal court said. He was believed to be 82.

The king's brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been appointed the country's new monarch.

"With all sorrow and sadness, the royal court in the name of his highness Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and all members of the family announces the death of the servant of the two shrines, King Fahd bin Abdel Aziz," according to a statement read out on state-run Saudi TV.

Fahd died at approximately 2:30 EDT, a senior Saudi official in Washington told The Associated Press. President Bush was alerted within minutes of Fahd's death, the official said on condition of anonymity.

During his rule, the portly, goateed Fahd, who rose to the throne in 1982, inadvertently helped fuel the rise of Islamic extremism by making multiple concessions to hard-liners, hoping to boost his Islamic credentials. But then he also brought the kingdom closer to the United States and agreed to a step that enraged many conservatives: the basing of U.S. troops on Saudi soil after the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. In his last years, Fahd was more of a figurehead than the actual ruler - so he was sidelined as the close relationship he nurtured with the United States deteriorated after the Sept. 11 attacks. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, and many in the U.S. administration blamed kingdom's strict Wahabi school of Islam for fueling terrorism.
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[Schnugg]

The last paragraph of that article is a bit accusatory in nature against King Fahd. As if to blame him for all radical islamic actions, which is not the case. I think his relations with the US probably did more for his country's status then they (Saudi people) realize.

He's been out of the limelight for about ten years since having a stroke, so I'd imagine any transfer of poower would be strictly on paper at this point..

r/
G

Still here in the land of sand and camels....

 

[Cate]

Crown Prince Abdullah has pretty much been in charge since King Fahd's stroke in 1995. From what I hear, the only real difference in governance will probably be that policy will be enacted more quickly, since Abdullah won't have to run it past Fahd before taking it public.

 

[A4sForever]

Normally I would agree with you .... Crown Prince Abdullah now has the watch .... seamless transition ..... piece of cake ...... just change the monogrammed towels in the gold-plated Royal Bathroom and we're good to go ---- but then oil is up $1.33 to $61.90 and the trading day is just half over .... ????

And I agree with Schnugg's call --- King Fahd has got a bad rap of sorts because of a lot of other MidEast problems. The marriage of convenience between Uncle Sam and the Royal Family would have probably been less rosy over the years without Fahd driving the ship, even if he's been in the back seat of late .....

 

[Schnugg]

The oil price spike is alarming. Although a senior Saudi Official was quoted as saying oil production and sales will remain the same. They're actually working on increasing production...I'm curious what that will do to prices.

r/
G

 

[A4sForever]

FYI: A llittle background on King Abdullah , AP-style.....

King Abdullah Assumes Saudi Throne
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Aug 1, 5:18 PM (ET) By ADNAN MALIK



[font=Verdana,Sans-serif](AP) Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah poses during the second session of the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheik March 2003 ...
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - King Abdullah quickly assumed the Saudi throne Monday after the death of his long-ailing half brother, giving a smooth transition to the leadership of this key U.S. ally and oil giant already grappling with extremists and debating the need for reform.

After a decade as de facto ruler and the prime mover of recent reforms, the popular 81-year-old Abdullah is expected to seek to consolidate his power by bringing more allies into government and perhaps open the door for younger, more modern princes to play a role.

Some people expect him to face behind-the-scenes competition from a clique of half brothers who hold their own powerful posts and have close ties with Saudi Arabia's conservative Muslim clerics, although the royal family's swift backing for the new king hinted at some consensus.

With oil markets already jittery because of rising consumption and strained production capacity, prices for crude jumped after the death of King Fahd early Monday even though Saudi oil policy is expected to be unchanged under Abdullah.

Fahd, the country's absolute monarch since 1982 until he was debilitated by a 1995 stroke, died early Monday at age 84 after nearly two months in a Riyadh hospital. The mechanism of succession moved quickly along tracks laid down long ago: Abdullah stepped in as king, while Fahd's brother Prince Sultan, the 77-year-old defense minister, became crown prince and next in line to the throne.

Abdullah has been the main force behind unprecedented reforms and a heavy crackdown on al-Qaida-linked militants following a series of terror attacks in May 2003. Now armed with the power of the throne after years in the more tenuous position of de facto ruler, Abdullah will likely move to advance supporters into key positions and push forward on the reform and anti-terror tracks. But he must tread carefully: Prince Sultan and others in the close-knit circle of Fahd's full brothers known as the "Sudairi Seven" hold key security posts and are seen as resistant to swift change.

Few expect the current generation of rulers - the sons of Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, the Bedouin chief who welded the kingdom together under his name in 1932 - to hold the throne as long as Fahd's 22-year reign. That opens the door to the next generation of numerous grandsons, but beyond Sultan there is no clear line of succession.

As the family installed Abdullah, Saudis prepared to bury their longest-ruling monarch Tuesday with a mix of the austerity dictated by their puritanical Wahhabi version of Islam and the grandiosity befitting a kingdom whose oil riches fueled investment across the Muslim world. By Monday afternoon, hotels in Riyadh were packed as Saudis flocked to the capital to express their condolences to the royal family and congratulate the new king. Numerous Arab leaders - including Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah - also were coming.

Foreign leaders planned to attend prayers for the dead at a mosque Tuesday afternoon. But Fahd was to be buried in an unmarked grave at a cemetery alongside previous kings and commoners - the tradition in Wahhabism, which frowns on the visiting of graves of family or revered figures.

The White House was informed of Fahd's death about 2:30 a.m. President Bush called Abdullah to express condolences and also offered congratulations to the new king, spokesman Scott McClellan said. The capital's streets remained busy, and many Saudis said they had prepared themselves for Fahd's death during his long illness.

Before becoming de factor ruler, Abdullah had been less inclined than Fahd to see the kingdom intwined in the decades-old alliance with the United States, but he has preserved close ties with Washington. After the Sept. 11 attacks, which were carried out by 15 Saudis and four other Arabs, Abdullah decided he had to initiate changes in his deeply conservative country.

Abdullah emphasized stability Monday, issuing a decree that all government ministers would retain their positions for now. But in the coming months, he will be watched carefully for signs he is strengthening his position in the complicated politics of the royal family.

Abdullah, who has no full brothers among the dozens of children thought to have been fathered by the kingdom's founder, will have to rely on half brothers for support if he is challenged by Fahd's "Sudairi Seven" clan.

Sultan, the new crown prince and still in charge of the Defense Ministry, is one of the surviving brothers in that clan, which gets its name from their mother. So is Interior Minister Prince Nayef, head of the internal security forces, and Prince Salman, the powerful governor of Riyadh.

Abdullah, who had a different mother, heads the National Guard. It once was a largely ceremonial unit, but he has built it into a modern 75,000-strong force as a counterweight to the army.

The Sudairi Seven, with close ties to the kingdom's conservative Islamic clerics, have been criticized by some as too slow to crack down on militant groups and to introduce political reforms. The next generation of royals - including the sons of Abdullah and the Sudairis - may also be itching for a greater role. One key post to watch will be that of intelligence minister, which has been empty since another of Abdullah's half brothers stepped down in January.

Prince Bandar, the son of Sultan and the urbane Saudi ambassador to Washington for two decades until last month, has been rumored as one candidate for the post. But Abdullah may seek to install someone closer to himself. Abdullah may have to strike deals with the Sudairis and other half brothers to push forward on reform and the terror crackdown. His main reform so far was to call the kingdom's first elections earlier this - votes for local councils.

With the authority of the throne, he can push for more and heighten an anti-corruption campaign he began over the past decade. "Now the political vacuum is over. We have one monarch and more decisiveness in the realm of reform. The world will witness positive changes in Saudi Arabia," said Turki al-Hamad, a newspaper columnist and political scientist. "Things that took many years to be decided will only take months."


Note: Oil rose to a record $62.30/ bbl on futures trading .....
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[squeeze]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Lets see if this changes the fact that Saudi Arabia is one of the most prolific supporters of Islamic terrorism.

 

[A4sForever]

Are they active supporters .... or self-serving enablers (?) ... and the quid pro quo with the Islamic radicals is the House of Saud stays in power ??? Or is that the same .....

I've long had some real problems with our govenment's support and underpinning of the Royal family over the decades .... it's not going to happen, but I wish we would just "take" the oil. National/international stability and security (?).

 

[eddie]

I was under the impression that extremism would in fact be bad for the House of Saud. Squeeze, is that what you were getting at?

 

[skidkid]

Extremism is good for the house of saud. They can focus their people's anger outward toward us instead of their represive, backward, oppresive regime.