Power Grab in Riyadh Likely After Saudi King ‘Hospitalized for Dementia’

pmaitra

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BREAKING: Power Grab in Riyadh Likely After Saudi King ‘Hospitalized for Dementia’
The news of King Salman's hospitalization comes just days after a senior Saudi prince called for regime change in Riyadh

Rudy Panko | Russia Insider


Quietly dethroned

Saudi Arabia, which is currently invading Yemen and funding terrorist groups fighting in Syria, might soon be engulfed in a power struggle of its own:

Informed sources told Arabic-language al-Ahd news agency that King Salman is now in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) section of King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Saudi capital.

The sources also said that given the Saudi king's unstable and aggravating health conditions, officials have ceased plans to transfer him to US hospitals.

King Salman, 80, is thought to have Alzheimer’s or dementia and the government is practically administered by his Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef.

The news comes just days after a senior Saudi prince called for the king to step down.According to the Guardian:

A senior Saudi prince has launched an unprecedented call for change in the country’s leadership, as it faces its biggest challenge in years in the form of war, plummeting oil prices and criticism of its management of Mecca, scene of last week’s hajj tragedy.

The prince, one of the grandsons of the state’s founder, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, has told the Guardian that there is disquiet among the royal family – and among the wider public – at the leadership of King Salman, who acceded the throne in January.

The prince, who is not named for security reasons, wrote two letters earlier this month calling for the king to be removed.

“The king is not in a stable condition and in reality the son of the king [Mohammed bin Salman] is ruling the kingdom,” the prince said. “So four or possibly five of my uncles will meet soon to discuss the letters. They are making a plan with a lot of nephews and that will open the door. A lot of the second generation is very anxious.”

“The public are also pushing this very hard, all kinds of people, tribal leaders,” the prince added. “They say you have to do this or the country will go to disaster.”

An internal power struggle in Saudi Arabia could have very serious consequences for the U.S., which relies heavily on the Saudis to do its “dirty work” in the Middle East. But then again, there's always Qatar.
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Commentary: One of the sources is The Guardian, so I would adopt a wait and watch silence at the time of opening the thread.
 

pmaitra

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Revealed: Saudi Arabia's manifesto for change in the face of rumours of coup plots
Exclusive: In rare public statement, advisers to all-powerful Prince Mohammed bin Salman tell Telegraph of plans for opening up country's economy and society
It obliquely acknowledges that radical changes in the royal family since the king acceded to the throne in January, including the sidelining of a generation of older princes and the former heir to the throne, have met with opposition. There have been claims outside the country that disgruntled princes are attempting to mount a coup to replace the king with one of his brothers.
 

Razor

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So @pmaitra, the sons of the first king (founder of KSA) are still running the show.
What happens when all his sons are exhausted?
Which of his grandsons will be king?
A crisis seems almost inevitable.

I wonder why the founder of KSA (Ibn Saud) chose horizontal succession rather than vertical succession.
 

pmaitra

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So @pmaitra, the sons of the first king (founder of KSA) are still running the show.
What happens when all his sons are exhausted?
Which of his grandsons will be king?
A crisis seems almost inevitable.

I wonder why the founder of KSA (Ibn Saud) chose horizontal succession rather than vertical succession.
It is quite a circus, isn't it?

What difference does it make whether one picks horizontal succession over vertical succession? With enough princes to populate an entire battalion, a power squabble is very likely.
 

Razor

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It is quite a circus, isn't it?

What difference does it make whether one picks horizontal succession over vertical succession? With enough princes to populate an entire battalion, a power squabble is very likely.
:pound: "an entire battalion"

But seroiusly though, I heard that in total there are over 5000 princes.
 

pmaitra

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:pound: "an entire battalion"

But seroiusly though, I heard that in total there are over 5000 princes.
5000? Wow. That is half a division or a quarter of a division. That is 10 times the size of a battalion.

I think things will begin to fall apart.
  • The economy is not doing well, as they have to deal with fracking, and they know that.
  • The Shias, favoured by Iran, sit on the oil rich regions, and they know that.

These are the things that might have pushed them to intervene in Yemen and to finance ISIS and all the "moderate" terrorists so that they can topple Assad, scuttle the Caspian to EU pipeline plan which Assad agreed to, and build a Saudi-Qatari pipeline to EU instead under a pliant puppet in place of Assad, like the Chocolate Seller.

If there is a catalyst that can create unrest in Saudi Arabia, I would like to know what it is.
 

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