Word: arabia
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...friend of the U.S., Fahd becomes King of Saudi Arabia...
Nothing bewilders him more than to get conflicting signals. Time and again we have assured him of our commitment to Israel's security. Then he hears that we are planning to supply AWACS [airborne warning and control systems] to Saudi Arabia and arms to Jordan. He does not know how to relate this to what he thinks is our understanding...
...eyes brighten." He was a reluctant monarch who ascended the throne to preserve family unity, and he eagerly delegated authority to younger and more sophisticated members of the royal family. When he died last week at the age of 69, Khalid ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, King of Saudi Arabia since 1975, was revered as a wise ruler who provided a mantle of tradition and stability to his country through an era of unparalleled turmoil and change...
...widely viewed as the Saudi leader most sympathetic to U.S. policies. His accession signals no major change in the kingdom's policies. Said a U.S. State Department official: "We are looking forward to more of the same basically sound cooperative relationship that we have had with Saudi Arabia for the past few years...
...home. Despite personality differences between Khalid and Fahd, the two men had complemented each other. Khalid remained close to the nomadic tribes that roam the country's desert wastelands, and his piety and sincerity appealed to devout practitioners of Wahhabism, the orthodox branch of Islam unique to Saudi Arabia. Fahd, on the other hand, gained international respect for his intelligence, flexibility and informed grasp of foreign affairs. But he had much weaker ties to the tribes, and his playboy reputation in his younger years offended more traditional elements in Saudi society...