Word: kingdoms
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...quick to wonder if Abdullah shouldn't be paying less attention to the contours of a bowling green and more to the political lie of the land. The Sept. 11 deeds of Saudi-born terrorist Osama bin Laden and 15 fellow Saudi plane hijackers have put the secretive Kingdom's worsening strains on public view as rarely before. Whether in response to the need to curb Islamic extremism, hold down soaring population growth, combat plummeting personal incomes or eliminate royal corruption, the world is calling on Abdullah - as are many Saudis - to get the country's house in order...
...more complicated: although the alliance was in the vital strategic interests of both nations for decades, its outlook is somewhat uncertain. U.S. and Saudi officials tell TIME that future use of caoc remains unclear, and that talks are on the cards to redefine the U.S. military mission in the Kingdom...
...outsiders, the pace may seem leisurely - but there's a big rethink going on in the Kingdom, a change marked by a major charm offensive from Prince Abdullah himself. During two days of meetings with Time, which included rare visits to his private office, home and equestrian farm, the Crown Prince repeatedly stressed his alliance with the U.S., acknowledged many of Saudi Arabia's ills and discussed his plans for reform. Last week, he even tossed out an intriguing Middle East peace initiative. "We have gone through shock and denial," explains a Saudi official. "Now we're asking...
Such praise could be taken as a comment on the mess the Kingdom was in when Abdullah gradually began taking over following King Fahd's stroke in 1995. Custom dictated that Abdullah, as heir apparent, take the helm; the King, now 80, still appears for ceremonial functions but is too frail to run the country. During Fahd's 20-year reign, government spending as well as Saudi births soared, while oil revenues declined from $40 a barrel in 1980 to about $20 today. Fighting off Iraq's Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War also set the Kingdom back $60 billion...
...Abdullah began shaking the Kingdom out of its petroleum hangover by declaring in 1998 that the "boom is over and will not return - all of us must get used to a different lifestyle." As an alternative to the easy oil riches, Abdullah has spearheaded the most significant attempt at economic restructuring in the Kingdom's history, opening negotiations with American and other Western energy powers on a $100 billion foreign investment project to develop natural gas and build related electricity and desalination plants. Still, oil accounts for around 70% of the country's revenues...