I wrote this article in April 2015 about Succession changes in Saudi Arabia. This was the beginning of present-day tussle for the throne in Saudi Royal family. Before this date, there was a consensus-based protocol that governed Royal succession. All royal stakeholders, as well as Wahabi religious elite, were part of the game. Even at that time the one who had a hawkish foreign policy towards Iran were favored. Muqrin was removed because he was not in favor of Yemen War. Nobody outside Saudi knew prince Muhammad bin Salman but he was made commander in chief of operation against Yemen. His accession to deputy crown prince was obviously a bribe to King Salman for appointing Prince Naif as next ruler of Saudi Arabia. Not to mention that Prince Naif at that time was a darling of the west at that time. His brothers were also active in Eastern province curbing a dissent as a consequence of Arab Spring.
Generational Shift in Saudi Monarchy: A Global Perspective
Tazeen Hasan
April 30, 2015
It was 2009, and the Obama administration was confounded with the complexities of the US war on terror. The former US Assistant Secretary of State and now a special advisor to the President, Richard Holbrook had a meeting with a young Saudi official at Riyadh. The focus of the agenda was Pak-Saudi relations; to extend Saudi Arabia's role to restructure Pakistan military to fight the war against the Afghan Taliban. Holbrook's apparent concern was to prevent Pakistan's nuclear arsenal from falling into the hands of Islamists and the Saudi prince fully agreed. Later, when the Barrack Obama met this juvenile Prince, now elevated to the top rank of the Interior Minister, in the Oval Office in 2013, US diplomats designated him the most pro-American member of the Saudi cabinet.
And when the Saudi royalty’s tussle for the throne took a dramatic twist this Wednesday morning, this former counter-terrorism chief, interior minister, Mohammad Bin Nayef, long applauded by western media and leaders for his successful operations against Al-Qaeda and for having a hawkish point of view on Iran, leading commander of Operation Decisive
Storm against the Yemeni Houthi government, in charge of supporting the
Syrian insurgency against Asad rule emerged as the designated heir to the throne of the world’s largest oil exporting economy and USA’s most reliable partner in the Middle East.
Analysts call this major shift in power within the Saudi Kingdom, one of the largest royal shake-ups in recent times, but as early as April 2012, even before his taking oath as the interior minister and much before his visit to the White House, 'The Economist' had predicted him as one of the candidates for the throne when the line of succession passed to the next generation. Reuters cited him as a close friend of the United States.
Prince Nayef is not only the first grandson of the founder of the Kingdom to join the line of succession, but also the first pro-American Saudi Crown Prince to be endorsed openly by the US media as well as the White House. His appointment signals a distinctly offensive foreign policy, particularly in this time of regional turmoil and Israeli anger against the US-Iranian nuclear deal.
Nayef, a veteran security chief trained by FBI and Scotland Yard, is also known for his frequent media exposure as compared to other figures in the Saudi Royal Family. To date, he has survived at least four assassination attempts, one of them allegedly by Al-Qaeda.
Prince Nayef has held the numerous designation of highest significance in the Kingdom since his appointment as Assistant Interior Minister in 1999 and is currently acting as the Interior Minister since 2012. In the past, he had been involved in decisions for critical portfolios such as foreign affairs, intelligence, and defense.
King Abdullah appointed him as a member of the influential Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia. He is regarded as the chief architect of the Kingdom's counter-terrorism program and an effective fighter against Al-Qaeda and the Islamists.
He has also been instrumental in crushing the Arab Spring protests and Shiite demonstrations in the Saudi Eastern Province and has been criticized by human rights groups for imprisoning thousands of demonstrators. He is also pro-actively involved in the ongoing military operation against Yemen.
U.S. embassy cables released by WikiLeaks show him to be somewhat hawkish on Iran consulting American officials on how best to protect key infrastructure "when at war with Iran". He also met the British Premier David Cameron in January 2013 to discuss regional issues.
According to a Wikileaks document, Nayef was already cited by the WhiteHouse as a de facto Interior Minister in 2009, when actually he was still a deputy interior minister in his Father's ministry.
During his visit to the Oval Office, one prominent international affairs professor at Texas A&M, F. Gregory Gause III, described Mohammed bin Nayef as “America’s favorite Saudi official.”
Nayef’s appointment as the interior minister of the Kingdom was met with protests by human rights groups. He is also somewhat infamous for introducing counter-terrorism regulations which curb freedom of expression.
In February 2014, he was made Chief of Syrian Affairs replacing Prince Bunder Bin Sultan then intelligence chief. Later Saudi Arabia was accused by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki of playing a negative role by intervening in Syria and Iraq on a sectarian basis.
The Crown Prince’s appointment has been complemented with the replacement of the world's longest-serving Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal with the Saudi Ambassador in Washington Adel al-Jubeir, who will be the first non-royal to hold the post.
The significant changes in the Saudi line of royal succession and cabinet are needed to be examined in the global backdrop of an impending US- Iranian Nuclear deal, Netanyahu's speech protesting against such a deal in the US Congress and the still ongoing Saudi military operation against Yemen, not to mention the full-fledged Saudi-US support for the rebellion against the Asad regime in Syria.
April 30, 2015
It was 2009, and the Obama administration was confounded with the complexities of the US war on terror. The former US Assistant Secretary of State and now a special advisor to the President, Richard Holbrook had a meeting with a young Saudi official at Riyadh. The focus of the agenda was Pak-Saudi relations; to extend Saudi Arabia's role to restructure Pakistan military to fight the war against the Afghan Taliban. Holbrook's apparent concern was to prevent Pakistan's nuclear arsenal from falling into the hands of Islamists and the Saudi prince fully agreed. Later, when the Barrack Obama met this juvenile Prince, now elevated to the top rank of the Interior Minister, in the Oval Office in 2013, US diplomats designated him the most pro-American member of the Saudi cabinet.
And when the Saudi royalty’s tussle for the throne took a dramatic twist this Wednesday morning, this former counter-terrorism chief, interior minister, Mohammad Bin Nayef, long applauded by western media and leaders for his successful operations against Al-Qaeda and for having a hawkish point of view on Iran, leading commander of Operation Decisive
Storm against the Yemeni Houthi government, in charge of supporting the
Syrian insurgency against Asad rule emerged as the designated heir to the throne of the world’s largest oil exporting economy and USA’s most reliable partner in the Middle East.
Analysts call this major shift in power within the Saudi Kingdom, one of the largest royal shake-ups in recent times, but as early as April 2012, even before his taking oath as the interior minister and much before his visit to the White House, 'The Economist' had predicted him as one of the candidates for the throne when the line of succession passed to the next generation. Reuters cited him as a close friend of the United States.
Prince Nayef is not only the first grandson of the founder of the Kingdom to join the line of succession, but also the first pro-American Saudi Crown Prince to be endorsed openly by the US media as well as the White House. His appointment signals a distinctly offensive foreign policy, particularly in this time of regional turmoil and Israeli anger against the US-Iranian nuclear deal.
Nayef, a veteran security chief trained by FBI and Scotland Yard, is also known for his frequent media exposure as compared to other figures in the Saudi Royal Family. To date, he has survived at least four assassination attempts, one of them allegedly by Al-Qaeda.
Prince Nayef has held the numerous designation of highest significance in the Kingdom since his appointment as Assistant Interior Minister in 1999 and is currently acting as the Interior Minister since 2012. In the past, he had been involved in decisions for critical portfolios such as foreign affairs, intelligence, and defense.
King Abdullah appointed him as a member of the influential Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia. He is regarded as the chief architect of the Kingdom's counter-terrorism program and an effective fighter against Al-Qaeda and the Islamists.
He has also been instrumental in crushing the Arab Spring protests and Shiite demonstrations in the Saudi Eastern Province and has been criticized by human rights groups for imprisoning thousands of demonstrators. He is also pro-actively involved in the ongoing military operation against Yemen.
U.S. embassy cables released by WikiLeaks show him to be somewhat hawkish on Iran consulting American officials on how best to protect key infrastructure "when at war with Iran". He also met the British Premier David Cameron in January 2013 to discuss regional issues.
According to a Wikileaks document, Nayef was already cited by the WhiteHouse as a de facto Interior Minister in 2009, when actually he was still a deputy interior minister in his Father's ministry.
During his visit to the Oval Office, one prominent international affairs professor at Texas A&M, F. Gregory Gause III, described Mohammed bin Nayef as “America’s favorite Saudi official.”
Nayef’s appointment as the interior minister of the Kingdom was met with protests by human rights groups. He is also somewhat infamous for introducing counter-terrorism regulations which curb freedom of expression.
In February 2014, he was made Chief of Syrian Affairs replacing Prince Bunder Bin Sultan then intelligence chief. Later Saudi Arabia was accused by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki of playing a negative role by intervening in Syria and Iraq on a sectarian basis.
The Crown Prince’s appointment has been complemented with the replacement of the world's longest-serving Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal with the Saudi Ambassador in Washington Adel al-Jubeir, who will be the first non-royal to hold the post.
The significant changes in the Saudi line of royal succession and cabinet are needed to be examined in the global backdrop of an impending US- Iranian Nuclear deal, Netanyahu's speech protesting against such a deal in the US Congress and the still ongoing Saudi military operation against Yemen, not to mention the full-fledged Saudi-US support for the rebellion against the Asad regime in Syria.
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