Saudi Leadership Failing

UPI ^ | Dec 6 | UPI

[GeronL]

Expert says Saudi leadership failing

LONDON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Saudi exile and dissident Saad al-Faqih, head of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, said his country's leadership is incapable of survival.

Al-Faqih, a professor of surgery at King Saud University until 1994, was jailed for a time for his involvement in the country's reform movement and acknowledges he is dedicated to bringing down the ruling regime.

He told the Middle East Intelligence Bulletin in London that once the challenge of violence shifts towards the royal family rather than Westerners, "the collapse will be imminent."

In addition, he said, "there are mounting socio-economic problems: increasing poverty, unemployment, domestic crime, social disintegration and sky-high national debt."

In the background, he said, is the crumbling of the regime's Islamic legitimacy since the 1991 Gulf War.

To make matters worse, he said, the regime does not have the proper command system to deal with these crises.

Copyright 2003 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

[Torie]

Everybody is predicting the Saudi Arabia will blow, but no one knows when. Enertia is powerful force. The same prediction vis a vis the same regime may be still posted avidly 20 years from now. Nobody knows, because really, Western pundits, and frankly pundits everywhere, are just guessing, in unchartered territory, about a place that few really understand, including I suspect, the Saudi's themselves, who lacking self introspection as a wild guess and generalization, don't know themselves.

[MJY1288]

"In addition, he said, "there are mounting socio-economic problems: increasing poverty, unemployment, domestic crime, social disintegration and sky-high national debt."

I guess this dissident, Saad al-Faqih, head of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, figures a good old Islamic Republic is the best course to ensure equal rights and justice for all?

Granted, The Saudis should pay a heavy price for spreading Wahabism throughout the Muslim world, but turning over power to Osama bin Laden or some other blood thirsty fanatic is not the answer.

What I see is the Terrorist groups struggling to find a host for them to resume their operations. Right now they are on the run and many of these so-called brave Jihadist are too afraid to pop their chicken sh*t heads up in public and they need a sympathetic nation to harbor their world wide condemned way of life.

The fact is that these low life terrorist are losing big and running out of places to hide.

[Mel Gibson]

Irregardless of the dissident's motivation and agenda, the royals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are in deep trouble. They can't grow their way out of their financial troubles. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is riding a terrorist tiger which they created and that corrupt ruthless repressive regime is headed the way of the dodo bird just like the Shah of Iran to extinction.

It is trully astounding the wealth that country has squandered and has nothing to show for it as compared to some of the other countries in the Gulf region like the U.A.E., Bahrain, Qatar, and the Sultanate of Oman. Saudi Arabia is like a ghetto.

[nunya bidness]

The problem the Saudis have is 5,000 princes and spending to support social programs that have imploded. Bear in mind that King Faud employed the original Wahhabists to gain the kingdom and the royal family is only now left out when it comes to American support.

Reform is the order of the day if the current regime seeks to remain in power. What you should be thinking about is how does Bin Laden figure in to the current state of flux.

In that respect, I think his notion of becoming the returning king will expose his true intentions of capturing the desert kingdom for his own. Terrorism is a nice hobby, but a title lasts forever.

It's all happening right before our eyes.

[bjcintennessee]

I agree 100% with your post. Question is, when the Saudi royalists fall, who will fill the vacuum? Without outside interference (US), it would most likely be taken over by the Waahibist (sp?) that they nurtured for so long.

[MJY1288]

Many years ago Saudi Arabia made the choice to appease radical Islam instead of confronting it. Their decision to fund the spread of radicalism has come home to roost and it's time to pay the piper. The only problem is that we cannot afford to see the House of Saud fall into the hands of the radicals and form an Islamic Republic when they control much of the worlds supply of sweet crude. This kind of economic power is just what the blood thirsty demons like Osama bin Laden have been chanting to Allah about for years, We must make sure this doesn't happen

[Major_Risktaker]

Saudi Arabia will will not blow. Dream on....

[Joe Boucher]

Saudi arabia is just the reason we invented neutron bombs, kill all the poop and leave the infrastructure. (oil)

[Cronos]

It's time to prop up 9discreetly of course) a Hashemite ruler -- they would have a lot more acceptance. Propose the King of Jordan as the Hashemite Emire of ARabia and let Jordan return to being hte land for the Palestinians. Voila we solve two problems.

[Cronos]

Saudi Arabia did not appease radical islam -- radical islam is the only reason the sauds are in power -- that and the help of the British in WWI (lawrence of Arabia). The Sauds are viewed as conquerors, not rulers. More acceptable rulers would be the Hashemites who were Sharifs of Mecca andMedina before being kicked out by the British-Saudi combine and given the kingdoms of TRansJordan and Iraq

[Mackey]

So how do we help establish a Hashemite kingdom in Arabia? We can't take over the country directly since encroaching on the land of Mohammed would be likely to inflame the passions of heretofore "moderate" muslims. Any significant drop in Saudi oil production would tip the world economy into a tailspin and we would suffer the consequences.

[Cronos]

Well, Mac, one way or the other the house of saud will fall and soon. The Hashemite king is a way for us to solve that mess without alQ taking over.