Rattlesnake Ridge      

 
     BFF
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz died Friday at an age of between 86-90. That leaves Prince Nayef Bin Abdulaziz as the next in line for the throne, if he makes it (he is up there in the 80s). Probably Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Prince of Mecca and owner of the daily Asharq Alawsat newspaper, will be next in line. I have written a few times here on the issue of Saudi succession, especially last July when the king put one of his sons in position to inherit the foreign ministry:

“…….. All this is
part of maneuverings by various branches of the vast Al-Saud clan to
position themselves for the coming death of the sons of old king
Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud). Besides the various ministries, the senior princes
have also staked out the various provinces as their personal fiefdoms.
This province system also creates the potential for an eventual “soft”
division of the country among the various branches (fukhooth “legs” and butoon
“bellies”) of the al-Saud clan. Even the armed forces, the
traditionally unified force within the Arab states, are divided into
spheres of princely influence. The Saudi system of power transfer is
inherently unstable, and is likely to become more so. The “commission of
allegiance” (Bay’a) that was supposed to select the rulers
reflects the rivalries within the family, which means it is as unstable
as the family relations and rivalries. Once the last of the Ibn Saud
sons passes away, there will be a political bloodbath (not necessarily a
real red bloodbath) over control of the Kingdom without magic and its
resources. The country may resemble China in the era of the warlords
more than a hundred years ago: it certainly has the potential for such a political fragmentation.………“

Cheers
mhg


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