Word: fahd
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
President Bush has won Saudi approval for a possible new U.S.-led military strike against Saddam Hussein. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi ambassador to the U.S., has passed the word to senior American officials from King Fahd. Intelligence studies have found that Iraq remains a regional threat, with larger stores of biological and chemical weapons than was thought at the end of the war. If Bush decides to act, he will want to finish the job in time to reap election rewards. The Saudis will support air strikes or naval operations, but not another massive gathering of troops on their...
Fifteen years ago, when King Fahd was still Crown Prince, he pledged to establish a citizens' consultative council upon ascending Saudi Arabia's throne. But after he came to power in 1982, Fahd found ample excuses to confine decision making within a narrow family circle. Then came Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent arrival of more than 500,000 U.S. troops in the region. While President Bush maintained that Desert Storm was not designed to promote democracy in the gulf's oilagarchies, the campaign to liberate Kuwait prodded conservative Arab rulers to broaden public participation...
Last week King Fahd finally introduced modest but significant political reforms. He extended the concept of shura (consultation) beyond the informal tradition of hearing petitions from private citizens. In an 83-article decree, he announced plans to establish a 60-member consultative council, and he also codified governmental protections of personal freedoms for 7 million subjects and 5 million foreign residents. Since the edict also affirmed the absolute authority of the monarch, it neither transforms Saudi Arabia into a model democracy nor positions Fahd as a regional pioneer. The Emir of Kuwait, for instance, has made a bolder pledge...
Tellingly, the first of the articles declares that the reforms are all grounded in Muslim theology. By affirming his devotion to Islam, the monarch hopes to enlist the support of clerics and scholars. Without their backing, Fahd risks losing control of the ideological battleground between progressive middle-class Saudis and conservative religious extremists, who have launched a campaign denouncing secular influences. In recent months fundamentalists have increased their harassment of women who dress "immodestly" and have intruded into homes where people are suspected of drinking alcohol. Fahd's decree bans such actions...
After months of clamoring for more high-tech aircraft, Saudi Arabia has reversed the throttle and quietly backed off its request for 72 more F-15 jet fighters. KING FAHD's surprising flip-flop may prove to be a pragmatic move. The Saudis relish their role as Washington's pre-eminent Arab partners in the Middle East peace process, so they would rather not risk embarrassing GEORGE BUSH. The $4 billion transaction would have undercut the President's vow to scale back arms sales to the Middle East and would surely launch a bruising battle between the White House...