I wonder, too. This is obviously an unusually tricky moment for the Saudi regime given the drop in the global price of oil and the war raging across northern Syria and Iraq, not to mention to the Kingdom's south in Yemen. Given that the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula seems to be behind this week's terror attacks in Paris, the situation there can only get worse. All of this compounded, of course, by the fact that the regime is autocratic, repressive and extraordinarily corrupt.
I noticed that not long ago Prince Bandar bin Turqi, the longtime Saudi ambassador to the USA and perhaps the most well-connected member of the dynasty in the west (he is so close to the Bush family that the younger President Bush has called him "Bandar Bush," but he has close friendship with all sorts of western movers and shakers) was made head of the National Security Council. Perhaps he may be moving into position to ascend the throne in the medium-term.
In any case, it will be interesting to see whether such a regime can survive for long caught between the twin threats of terrorists who are even (slightly) more radically Islamist than the dynasty and the pressures of those who would like some form of liberalization.
--Previous Message--
: I can't help but wonder just how long Saudi
: Arabia can continue to function with an
: endless succession of sick and dying old men
: waiting their turn to take the helm of the
: world's most oil-rich country!
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