Word: crowning
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...causes Israelis to point to Saudi support of the P.L.O. as evidence of Riyadh's untrustworthiness. "The Saudis donate their money to some of the most fanatical terror groups." charges a high-ranking Israeli general. "They speak in 300 languages and with as many tongues as there are crown princes. There is no one solid Saudi voice." Fahd's argument is that by supplying Arafat's Fatah with some $40 million a year in aid, he is strengthening Arafat against George Habash's more radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Two years ago, Fahd was close to reaching...
From his earliest days in the Saudi government, Fahd has been a close friend of the U.S. Today, he and Sadat are Washington's two most important allies in the Arab world. The Crown Prince is responsible for the Saudi policy of holding the line on oil price rises, reasoning that his country ultimately must look to the U.S. for its security and therefore that anything damaging to the American economy will eventually endanger Saudi Arabia. He is also responsible for the Saudi decision to increase its productive capacity, which was requested by Washington...
...modern House of Saud comprises the descendants of Abdul Aziz and his five brothers. Supreme power is held by the "Inner Six," a council made up of the heads of the family's six principal branches. Oddly enough, neither King Khalid nor Crown Prince Fahd is a member of the Inner Six; their branch of the family, that of Abdul Aziz, is represented by an older brother, Mohammed, who long ago renounced his claim to the throne...
Family solidarity is all important. Once a council of the House of Saud has made a decision, no prince, however influential, dares challenge it. The power of the Inner Six was proved in the late '50s, when Faisal, then Crown Prince, tried to become King on the ground that his profligate brother Saud was bankrupting the country. The council said no, and Faisal obeyed. By 1964 both Saud and the country's finances had deteriorated to the point where the Inner Six was forced to take action. The King was deposed and died in exile in Athens...
...peaceful succession that took place after Faisal was assassinated by a mentally deranged young member of his family, Prince Faisal bin Musaed, in 1975. Before the King's death, there had been talk that he should be succeeded by the able, energetic Fahd, even though Khalid was Crown Prince. In addition to his proven skills, Fahd was one of the "Sudairi Seven"-seven brothers born to Abdul Aziz by one of his favorite wives. (Among the other powerful Sudairis: Prince Sultan, the present Minister of Defense; Prince Salman, the governor of Riyadh; Prince Naif, Minister of the Interior...