Word: reformer
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...most of their princes, realizes the correct answer to that question is yes. To the surprise of many who knew him as the stodgy, longtime commander of the 75,000-strong Saudi Arabian National Guard, he emerged well before Sept. 11 as a rare Saudi leader in advocating internal reform and a more assertive foreign policy. As Abdullah's profile rises, no other prince matches his popularity, which is largely due to the Saudi perception of him as straight-talking and above corruption, especially compared with some of his conspicuously super-rich brothers. Sarah Al Ayed, 29, a Jidda...
Despite his relatively progressive instincts, it remains to be seen whether Abdullah will succeed in pushing his reform agenda past Islamic opposition. His efforts to bring the Kingdom into the World Trade Organization, for example, could help create jobs - unemployment is 15%. But the obstacles to membership include the country's slow progress in enacting commercial and insurance laws over the objections of Islamic traditionalists, who regard them as an affront to Shari'a, the rules of life handed down...
...Crown Prince, he lacks the full authority of a king to act. Fears of a power struggle in the royal family have proved unfounded, with Abdullah serving as day-to-day ruler with the consensus of other powerful princes. Insiders say that tensions on issues like the pace of reform and cleaning up corruption simmer between Abdullah and other ranking princes, notably influential Defense Minister Prince Sultan, the next in line to the throne after Abdullah. "The Crown Prince is in an unenviable position," says a prominent Jidda businessman close to royal circles. "He is in power, but he doesn...
...been unable to meet old guidelines for reform, offering 12 or more classes in only three areas this year when in 1997 it was declared that all areas should maintain this basic level of offerings...
...tried to appease us with new guidelines for incremental reform that still do not address the fundamental problems of its philosophy and implementation...