Saudi princes' detentions sent a message: don't block my path to the throne

[snoop1130]

Saudi princes' detentions sent a message: don't block my path to the throne

 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a session of the Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia November 20, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s crown prince meant to send a strong message to critics within the royal family by detaining senior princes this weekend: Don’t you dare oppose my succession to the throne.

 

The main target in the crackdown, sources said, is King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, one of only three members of the Allegiance Council, the royal body that endorses the line of succession, to oppose Mohammed bin Salman becoming crown prince in 2017 in a palace coup.

 

Four sources with royal connections said the move aimed to ensure compliance within the ruling Al Saud family, in which there have been rumblings of discontent, ahead of an eventual succession upon the king’s death or abdication.

 

One of the sources described the detentions as a preemptive effort to ensure Prince Mohammed’s “ascent will be rubber stamped by the Allegiance Council when the time comes”.

 

Ahmed, 78, was detained on Friday along with Mohammed bin Nayef, who was crown prince until he was ousted in 2017 and replaced by Mohammed bin Salman. Ahmed’s son Nayef and Mohammed’s brother Nawaf were also detained, said two other sources with royal connections.

 

The princes have been held at royal villas in the capital Riyadh and some were allowed to contact their families, those sources said.

 

Crown Prince Mohammed, who has moved ruthlessly to tighten his grip on power, feared disaffected princes might rally around Ahmed and Mohammed bin Nayef as potential alternatives to take the throne, said two of the sources with royal connections, and a senior foreign diplomat.

 

“This is a preparation for transferring power,” said one of those sources. “It is a clear message to the family that no one can say ‘No’ or dare challenge him.”

 

Saudi authorities have not confirmed or commented on the detentions, which have not been covered by Saudi media. The media ministry has not responded to detailed requests for comment.

 

If Mohammed bin Salman, 34, succeeds his father, it will be Saudi Arabia’s first generational transfer of power since the death of state founder Abdulaziz Ibn Saud in 1953, who was followed by six of his sons in succession.

 

The Allegiance Council, made up of one member from each house of 34 sons of Abdulaziz, is designed to ensure that the hundreds of princes that make up the royal family’s next generation unite behind the new king.

 

The senior foreign diplomat said the detentions were another blow to the country’s image abroad just as it appeared to be recovering from the furore over the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and criticism of the Yemen war.

 

Crown Prince Mohammed previously detained senior royals and prominent Saudi businessmen in 2017 at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel, unnerving investors at home and abroad. More recently, it seemed those days of unpredictability had been put to rest as Riyadh assumed this year’s presidency of the Group of 20 major economies.

 

ROYAL DISCONTENT

 

When sources initially described the latest detentions in recent days, several of them said the detained princes had been accused of plotting a coup to thwart Mohammed’s accession. However, some of those sources, and others who later spoke about the detentions, have since offered milder justifications, describing the arrests as a response to an accumulation of misbehaviour rather than a plot against the crown prince.

 

Two sources used the same phrase, saying the princes were being warned with a “twist of the ear” to stop criticising the crown prince.

 

While hosting traditional gatherings known as majlis, Prince Ahmed had raised questions about the crown prince’s stance on several issues, including a U.S. plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one of the sources said.

 

There was no way to contact Ahmed or the other princes to comment on the allegations. Sources said he returned from a trip abroad the night before he was detained.

 

Ahmed on Saturday asked his family to deliver his bisht, a traditional coat worn at formal occasions, suggesting he might soon make a public appearance, said two sources including one with royal connections.

 

Saudi insiders and Western diplomats say the family is unlikely to oppose the crown prince while the king is alive, and the monarch would not turn against his favourite son, to whom he has delegated most responsibilities of rule.

 

The recent detentions sparked speculation about the health of 84-year-old King Salman, but sources have said he remains mentally and physically sound. State TV on Sunday aired a clip of him accepting oaths of office from two new Saudi ambassadors.

 

Mohammed bin Nayef’s brother Saud and Saud’s son, Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz, who were both rumoured to have been among those detained, also appeared conducting official business in photographs published by state media on Sunday.

 

Royals seeking to change the line of succession have viewed Prince Ahmed as a possible choice who would have support of family members, the security forces and some Western powers, sources have said.

 

The other two members of the Allegiance Council who opposed Mohammed bin Salman becoming crown prince in 2017 are younger and less prominent than Ahmed. One of them lives abroad.

 

“Disgruntlement was gathering around him (Prince Ahmed) and he was letting it happen,” said the fourth source with royal connections.

 

Critics have questioned the crown prince’s ability to lead after the 2018 murder of Khashoggi by Saudi agents and an attack last year on a Saudi oil facility, the sources said.

 

Some royals became disaffected after Prince Mohammed reigned in traditional largesse for many family members, heavily restricted their movements and replaced their security details with guards who report to him.

 

Mohammed bin Nayef’s movements have been heavily controlled and monitored since 2017.

 

Ahmed has kept a low profile since returning to Riyadh in October 2018 after 2-1/2 months abroad, when he appeared to criticize the Saudi leadership while responding to protesters outside a London residence chanting for the Al Saud’s downfall. Saudi watchers say there is no evidence he wants the throne.

 

The second source with royal connections said the crown prince may have wanted to clear his path before the U.S. presidential election, fearing that a loss by Donald Trump could affect his standing.

 

The foreign diplomat said he may have moved against his uncle and cousin out of an abundance of caution, fearing that “the Americans might one day turn to them”.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-09

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[xtof2]

A killer in every sense of the word.

[rabas]

Critical timing just before Saudi Arabia's moves to take on Russia and global oil markets as corona virus is already tanking world equity markets. History has woken from it's long slumber.

[Sydebolle]

Mohammed bin Salman would be serving many life sentences in any other country and yes, in all fairness, planet Earth should get rid of such evil monsters. But as long as world police force "USA" is kissing his bot-tom over all those arms sales and oil supplies .......

I, for one, just hope that this little tawt will be slipping nicely on the big puddle of unsold oil just to leave him paralyzed for the rest of his life. Presently 34 years old, he would be a prisoner of himself and he could thoroughly enjoy every single day of his remaining life, how nice it is to be a prisoner of oneself! 

[spidermike007]

This man is a very, very bad actor. He cannot be trusted. He is one of the world's greatest enemies, and he stands for the opposite of peace, harmony, and tolerance. The Saudis have been major sponsors of world terror for a long time now. And they continue to be.

[Proboscis]

Don't worry - his day will come. He will probably be on the throne when oil use stops on the planet. He will then have to find a way for the country to operate without the oil money. I don't think that carpeting the country with solar panels will solve the problem.

[rabas]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

This man is a very, very bad actor. He cannot be trusted. He is one of the world's greatest enemies, and he stands for the opposite of peace, harmony, and tolerance. The Saudis have been major sponsors of world terror for a long time now. And they continue to be.

Unless you want to support Russia by paying $200/barrel for oil to help Putin and his oligarchs who wilfully assassinate innocent people around the world with banned, ungodly powerful chemical weapon agents, the likes of which have never been developed outside Putin's Russia.  BTW, Putin supports North Korea and Iran (remember Soleimani?) both of which have nuclear ambitions to oppose the free world. 

 

Makes MBS look like a teddy bear.

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, rhyddid said:

This is the fellow that US Pompeo and Trump love so much, UK BS BJ also is very found of him, EU too since he buys lots of guns and training to exterminate Yemen Children and population, also he finance all the ISIS and similar guerrilla in Syria and Middle east.

Well done white skin western democracy !!!!
  

Trump never met a dictator, despot, or evil person he did not like. MBS, Kim, Putin, Xi, the list goes on. I think he is envious of their power and wealth. Real wealth. Real power. 

[placnx]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Trump never met a dictator, despot, or evil person he did not like. MBS, Kim, Putin, Xi, the list goes on. I think he is envious of their power and wealth. Real wealth. Real power. 

The oil shock on top of Coronavirus makes a worldwide recession quite likely, and in that case Trump will probably be out next January. With oil stocks down as much as 50% yesterday, MBS will not be popular in the US oil & gas states - about 10 - and their reps & senators will join the list opposing Saudi Arabia, MBS in particular. Several votes were blocked only by Trump's veto.

 

So this suggestion in the story: "The second source with royal connections said the crown prince may have wanted to clear his path before the U.S. presidential election, fearing that a loss by Donald Trump could affect his standing." sounds quite plausible.

[Lacessit]

18 minutes ago, placnx said:

The oil shock on top of Coronavirus makes a worldwide recession quite likely, and in that case Trump will probably be out next January. With oil stocks down as much as 50% yesterday, MBS will not be popular in the US oil & gas states - about 10 - and their reps & senators will join the list opposing Saudi Arabia, MBS in particular. Several votes were blocked only by Trump's veto.

 

 

IMO it would be foolish to assume Trump cannot be re-elected if the US is in recession. He has the advantage of incumbency, and his support base is rusted on. While personally I think he is a grub, he has shown he is a master manipulator of public opinion and the media.

[spidermike007]

16 hours ago, Lacessit said:

IMO it would be foolish to assume Trump cannot be re-elected if the US is in recession. He has the advantage of incumbency, and his support base is rusted on. While personally I think he is a grub, he has shown he is a master manipulator of public opinion and the media.

Right now, even alot of his supporters are shocked at how tone deaf he is, in regard to Corona. People are dying, and he is making light of this, playing it down, and continuing to lie about the test kits, and the fact that they were prepared. They were anything but prepared. He is blaming Obama, for the cuts that he himself made to the CDC. Obfuscation, deflection, lies, and nonsense about hoaxes and conspiracies. That is all this man has to work with. Facts always get in his way. After all, "truth is not truth", right? 

 

It is looking more and more likely he will not only lose the election, but lose in a way that is both convincing, an utter mandate for Biden/Klobuchar and one of the great humiliations of his life. And he will leave office, and go back to a broken empire, face the SDNY for his many criminal offenses, and face the reality that his name is radioactive, like never before. And he did all of this to himself. He is his own worst enemy. Even many of my conservative friends wish he would just shut up, and stop his juvenile tweets. 

Edited March 11, 2020 by spidermike007