Saudi King Abdullah Dies, New Ruler Is Salman

[kingwilly]

Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world’s top oil exporter and birthplace of Islam said in an official statement.

King Salman has named his half-brother Muqrin as his crown prince and heir, rapidly moving to forestall any fears of a succession crisis at a moment when Saudi Arabia faces unprecedented turmoil on its borders.

The rise of Islamic State in war-torn Syria and Iraq has brought to the kingdom’s frontiers a militant group that vows to bring down the Al Saud dynasty.

In Yemen, the Iran-allied Shi’ite Houthis have all but seized power and plunged the country to the brink of total chaos, opening space for Al-Qaeda, which waged an insurgency in Saudi Arabia from 2003-06 and nearly killed a top prince in 2009.

The problems in all those countries are being played out against an overarching backdrop of bitter rivalry between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and its arch regional foe Shi’ite Iran and bumps in Riyadh’s key relationship with the United States.

Meanwhile the oil price has more than halved since June, leaving the kingdom likely to face its first budget deficit since 2009 and navigating difficulties with other OPEC members that disagree with its strategy not to defend prices.

“His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1 a.m. this morning,” said the statement carried by state television.

Abdullah, said by the Saudi embassy in Washington to have been born in 1924, had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2005, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.

President Barack Obama expressed condolences and saluted the late king’s commitment to close U.S.-Saudi ties.

“As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions,” Obama said in a statement. “One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the US-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.”

President George H. W. Bush who sent an American army to Saudi Arabia to help repel Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1990-91, described Abdullah as “a wise and reliable ally, helping our nations build on a strategic relationship” in a statement.

In contrast, radical Sunni Islamist militants who want the kingdom’s destruction rejoiced on Twitter and on hardline online forums, with some praying that God make the death of a man they see as a “tyrant” the beginning of the end for Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah pushed cautious changes in the conservative Islamic kingdom including increased women’s rights and economic deregulation, but made no moves towards democracy.

At stake with the appointment of Salman as king is the future direction of the United States’ most important Arab ally and self-appointed champion of Sunni Islam, which has played a pivotal role in the messy aftermath of the Arab spring.

Abdullah played a guiding role in Saudi Arabia’s support for Egypt’s government after the military intervened in 2012, and drove his country’s support for Syria’s rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

A file picture dated May 21, 2004 shows then Saudi Arabian Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Riyadh’s governor, waving as he arrives at Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain. (EPA Photo/Jose Huesca)
A file picture dated May 21, 2004 shows then Saudi Arabian Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Riyadh’s governor, waving as he arrives at Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain. (EPA Photo/Jose Huesca)

Long-term challenges

King Salman, thought to be 79, has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy, including maintaining the alliance with the United States and working towards energy market stability.

During his five decades as Riyadh governor he was reputedly adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal and princely interests that determine Saudi policy, while maintaining good relations with the West.

“I think he will continue with Abdullah’s reforms. He realizes the importance of this. He’s not conservative in person, but he values the opinion of the conservative constituency of the country,” said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a news channel owned by a Saudi prince.

“King Abdullah was willing to challenge the conservatives, but not to crush them. Salman respected the status quo. He wanted reform but was very much connected to the tribal mentality, the conservative nature of his constituency,” he added.

Crown Prince Muqrin was placed firmly in the line of succession by Abdullah a year ago after serving as the kingdom’s intelligence chief and later an adviser to the king on foreign and security policy.

He promised to continue Abdullah’s reforms, but has also demonstrated a populist edge by demanding banks serve the interests of Saudi citizens more fairly.

In the long term Saudi rulers have to manage the needs of a rapidly growing population plagued by structural unemployment, and an economy that remains overly dependent on oil revenue and undermined by lavish subsidies.

Saudi Arabia, which holds more than a fifth of the world’s crude oil, also exerts some influence over the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims through its guardianship of Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest sites.

Incoming kings have traditionally chosen to appoint new ministers to head top ministries like oil and finance.

In a country where the big ministries are dominated by royals, successive kings have kept the oil portfolio reserved for commoners and insisted on maintaining substantial spare output capacity to help reduce market volatility.

A Saudi businessman in Jeddah told Reuters: “People are very sad because they loved him very much. He was a father figure, sincere, and truly a king. He was always trying to be the arbitrator. He kept his word and was known for his loyalty.”

Reuters

Saudi King Abdullah Dies, New Ruler Is Salman - The Jakarta Globe

[harrybarracuda]

With the obvious gravitas that goes with the passing of The Custodian of the Two Holy Chequebooks, can I just say Yippeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[thaimeme]

With the obvious gravitas that goes with the passing of The Custodian of the Two Holy Chequebooks, can I just say Yippeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing has changed, I'm sure....

[The Ghost Of The Moog]

World leaders are clearing their diaries to go and pay their respects in Riyadh.

David Cameron is on his way this weekend.

We don't have a photo of them on their way to pay homage, but here is a photo of the same carpetbaggers all righteous in their indignation two weeks ago.

Same people as are on their business-class-way there now. And you guys think that 'something has changed' with the way our leaders will treat militant Islam?

Business as usual

[harrybarracuda]

This is worth a laugh.

How King Salman bin Abdulaziz 'raised cash for Mujahideen' | Daily Mail Online

[thaimeme]

Je suis Saudi....

[slackula]

In the UK they flew flags at half-mast for this fat twat:

UK flag tributes to Saudi King Abdullah criticised - ITV News

[harrybarracuda]

In the UK they flew flags at half-mast for this fat twat:

UK flag tributes to Saudi King Abdullah criticised - ITV News

Well considering the billions he's sent our way, I don't think that's too much to ask.

[pseudolus]

In the UK they flew flags at half-mast for this fat twat:

UK flag tributes to Saudi King Abdullah criticised - ITV News

Indeed. A mawkish balls on chin bruising sick "my mate Saud" speach from Cameron about this bastard.... and then a minute later he is back talking abotu spreading democracy and moral decency.

Fooking hypocrites all the way.

[baldrick]

when did the silly chin beards become vogue amongst the towelled ? who was the first closet homo ?

they always make me laugh when I see them

[thaimeme]

In the UK they flew flags at half-mast for this fat twat:

UK flag tributes to Saudi King Abdullah criticised - ITV News

Indeed. A mawkish balls on chin bruising sick "my mate Saud" speach from Cameron about this bastard.... and then a minute later he is back talking abotu spreading democracy and moral decency.

Fooking hypocrites all the way.

Hypocrisy.
Comes with the territory.
A way of life.

[sabang]

How surprising-

New Saudi King Was Major Supporter of Al Qaeda



The new king of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, the half-brother of King Abdullah, who died in his early 90s from complications from pneumonia, is expected to rule with a more Wahhabist-oriented religious bent and concentrate on limiting cautious political reforms started by Abdullah. Salman is also expected to devote his energies to increasing Saudi national security. Salman’s devotion to Saudi security is hypocritical at best due to his past support for Al Qaeda, including some of the individuals implicated in the 9/11 attack on the United States. It is Salman’s involvement with financing 9/11 and other terrorists that will likely reinforce the Obama administration’s refusal to declassify 28 missing pages from the 2002 Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the intelligence failures surrounding the attack. As the then-governor of Riyadh, Salman’s name likely appears as a «big fish» in the redacted 28 pages from the Senate report.
On the surface, Salman will not govern much differently than his predecessor in affairs of oil politics and national security. Salman will be assisted by his son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the minister of defense and the chief of the royal court. Mohammed was the chief adviser to his father when Salman served as the governor of Riyadh province. Prince Mohammed became defense minister when his father acceded to the throne upon the death of Abdullah.
The other chief adviser to Salman will be Mohammed bin Nayef, the minister of the interior since 2012 and the current deputy Crown Prince and Second Deputy Prime Minister. Nayef, a nephew of King Salman, is second in line to the throne after Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al Saud. Muqrin was the head of the Saudi Mukhabarat al-A’amah, the Saudi intelligence agency, from 2005 to 2012.
In 2006, Saudi democratic opposition leaders in Britain fingered Salman, the then-governor of Riyadh province, as providing material assistance to Al Qaeda forces operating in Afghanistan before and after 9/11. The opposition revealed that Al Qaeda members routinely traveled through Riyadh on their way to Pakistan and then to Taliban-ruled regions of Afghanistan. These Saudi insiders also reported that Salman's governor’s office arranged for cash payments, hotels, and air fares for the Al Qaeda members.
There is little doubt that Salman’s activities on behalf of Al Qaeda were known to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which approved of the Saudi pipeline of providing Arab guerrillas to Afghanistan’s mujahedin forces since the early days of Langley’s involvement in the jihadist campaign to oust Afghanistan’s socialist and secular government from power. Shortly before his suspicious death in Scotland in 2005, former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook wrote in The Guardian that «Al Qaeda» was a CIA database of mercenaries, financiers, and interlocutors used by the CIA to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan: «Throughout the 80s he [Osama bin Laden] was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Al-Qaida [sic], literally 'the database,' was originally the computer file of the thousands of mujahedin who were recruited and trained with help from the CIA to defeat the Russians».
From the accounts of the Saudi opposition and Cook, it is inconceivable that Salman was unaware of the activities of his governor’s staff in Riyadh.
When a Saudi prince and a reputed relative of King Salman’s chief adviser Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, also named Nayef, was caught by France trafficking in cocaine in 1999, the Saudi Interior Ministry informed Paris in 2000 that if France brought criminal charges against the minor prince Nayef, a lucrative $7 billion radar defense contract, Project SBGDP («Garde Frontiere»), with the French firm Thales would be canceled. The details are found in a Confidential French diplomatic cable dated February 21, 2000. The subject of the cable was an audience between French officials and Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef in the case of a Saudi plane suspected of trafficking in narcotics («Prince Nayef, ministre saoudien de l'interieure. Affaire de l'avion saoudien soupçonne d'avoir servi a un traffic stupefiants.») The cable was sent by the technical adviser in the French ministry of the interior François Gouyette to the French justice ministry and the French embassy in Riyadh. Gouyette became the French ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in 2001.
The cocaine trafficked by Nayef was, according to a Confidential U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) document, being used to fund Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The cash that was paid to terrorist recruits passing through Riyadh was obtained by the Interior Ministry from the drug proceeds coffers held in secret bank accounts. The CIA was aware of and encouraged the off-the-books payments to the Al Qaeda recruits, just as it is doing today with the Al Qaeda recruits being emptied from Saudi prisons and paid by Saudi government interlocutors.
In 1999, the DEA broke open a major conspiracy involving Prince Nayef’s Colombian cocaine smuggling from Venezuela to support some «future intention» involving Koranic prophecy. The DEA operations were contained in a «Declassification of a Secret DEA 6 Paris Country Office» memorandum dated June 26, 2000. In June 1999, 808 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Paris. At the same time, the DEA was conducting a major investigation of the Medellin drug cartel called Operation Millennium.
Through an intercepted fax, the Bogota Country Office of the DEA learned of the Paris cocaine seizure and linked the drug smuggling operation to the Saudis. The DEA investigation centered around Saudi Prince Nayef al Saud, whose alias was «El Principe» (the Prince). Nayef's full name is Nayef (or Nayif) bin Fawwaz al-Shaalan al-Saud. In pursuit of his international drug deals, Nayef traveled in his own Boeing 727 and used his diplomatic status to avoid customs checks. The DEA report stated Nayef studied at the University of Miami, Florida, owned a bank in Switzerland, spoke eight languages, was heavily invested in Venezuela’s petroleum industry, regularly visited the United States, and traveled with millions of dollars of U.S. currency. Nayef was also invested in Colombia's petroleum industry.
Nayef was also reported to have met with drug cartel members in Marbella, Spain, where the Saudi royal family maintains a huge palatial residence. The report states that when a group of cartel members traveled to Riyadh to meet Nayef, «they were picked up in a Rolls Royce automobile belonging to Nayef, and driven to the Riyadh Holiday Inn hotel. The next day they were met by Nayef and his brother [believed to be named Saul [sic] [His twin brother is Prince Saud. Nayef's older brother, Prince Nawaf, is married to King Abdullah's daughter].)… The second day they all traveled to the desert in terrain vehicles [hummers]. During this desert trip they discussed narcotics trafficking. UN [the DEA informant] and Nayef agreed to conduct the 2,000 kilogram cocaine shipment, which would be delivered to Caracas, VZ, by UN’s people, where Nayef would facilitate the cocaine’s transport to Paris, France. Nayef explained he would utilize his 727 jet airliner, under Diplomatic cover, to transport the cocaine.
Nayef told «UN» that he could transport up to 20,000 kilograms of cocaine in his jet airliner, and propositioned «UN» to conduct 10-20,000 kilogram shipments in the future. «UN» wondered why Nayef, supposedly a devout Muslim, would be involved with drugs. Nayef’s response in light of what is now known about Saudi funding of terrorism, is worth a close perusal. During the Riyadh meeting, Nayef responded to «UN’s» question by stating that «he is a strict advocate of the Muslim Corran [sic].» «UN» stated, «Nayef does not drink, smoke, or violate any of the Corran’s [sic] teachings.» «UN» asked Nayef why he [Nayef] wanted to sell cocaine and Nayef stated that the world is already doomed and that he had been authorized by God to sell drugs. Nayef stated that «UN» would later learn of Nayef’s true intentions for trafficking narcotics although Nayef would not comment further. The Saudi prince’s drug smuggling operation was smashed by the DEA and French police in October 1999.
Drug money laundering in support of Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a strict interpretation of the Koran in the future governance of Saudi Arabia, the return of the feared religious police, the «mutaween», and a crackdown on legitimate internal dissent in Saudi Arabia: this is the legacy and governance style that King Salman brings to Saudi Arabia.

Wayne Madsen - New Saudi King Was Major Supporter of Al Qaeda - Strategic Culture Foundation - on-line journal > New Saudi King Was Major Supporter of Al Qaeda > Strategic-Culture.org - Strategic Culture Foundation

[ENT]

Nasty chap.

[harrybarracuda]

Nah he's harmless. Doesn't know what day it is.

[baldrick]

^ yes . He is very close to dropping off his perch . Can't walk and has alzheimers

[ENT]

Dangerous position.

[harrybarracuda]

Dangerous position.

Not at all. The next one after him was lined up before the last one died.

[ENT]

Who's he?

[helge]

His half brother

[thaimeme]

Salman.

Sounds Jewish.

[ENT]

Them Hebraics at it again.

Ol' Abe shoulddnt have messed around with that bint Sarah....

[harrybarracuda]

Who's he?

"Saudi Arabia’s royal family has moved with unprecedented speed to put the first of a new generation of princes in line to the throne, an apparent attempt to reassure the world about its future plans.
King Salman, who succeeded to the absolute monarchy in the early hours of Friday morning following the death of his half-brother King Abdullah, announced Prince Mohammed bin Nayef would be his deputy Crown Prince and deputy prime minister.
Prince Mohammed, 55, is close to the United States and ran the country’s counter-terror programme for many years.
As deputy Crown Prince, he is by convention next in line but one to the King. His intended predecessor, Prince Muqrin, 69, was named Crown Prince and official heir shortly after King Abdullah’s death at 1am local time this morning.
Prince Muqrin is the youngest son of modern Saudi Arabia’s founder, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud. All Saudi monarchs since King Abdulaziz’s death in 1953 have been one or other of his more than 30 sons."

[harrybarracuda]

Salman.

Sounds Jewish.

Did it never actually occur to you that they are all Semites?

Abraham = Ibrahim
Joseph = Yousif
etc.