Does anyone know when they say the guy is “a longtime US favorite” does that mean he is a good guy or bad guy? I don’t know anymore.
That means he’s the guy that bribes American politicians.
I’m not convinced there are any “good” Saudis with power or money.
>Does anyone know when they say the guy is “a longtime US favorite” does that mean he is a good guy or bad guy? I don’t know anymore.
If the state department likes him then he’s probably no good.
“Does anyone know when they say the guy is “a longtime US favorite””
Crown Prince Nayef has been nicknamed “the Prince of Darkness” because of his role in security/intelligence operations in the Kingdom. He is seen as tough on terrorists.
He conducted a crackdown on some terrorist organizations there, which led them to try to assassinate him - by a suicide bomber with a bomb literally up inside his butt! The bombers body absorbed enough of the blast that Prince Nayef survived.
It was entertaining to watch jihadi talking heads pontificate and issue fatwas afterward, where they said that although it is normally impermissible to indulge in homosexual sex, it can be OK, if you are doing it so that you can be stretched out to hold a bigger bomb for a suicide attack!
The gist of the story is that the much younger (30) Deputy Crown Prince Mohhamad bin Salman seems to have won out internally for influence over policy decisions, and possibly for taking over after old King Salman (his dad) dies. Nayef is said to be sick, and may never be up to job.
The changes in Saudi Arabia are big - oil may never get as expensive as it was, due to new technology to extract shale oil, and projected future solar developments. The Saudis are trying to restructure in a big way.
Their State Religion, the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam, is also the center of gravity of Sunni terrorism - al Queda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Muslim Brotherhood, al Shabab, you name it. So a lot is riding on the new guy. One fear expressed (and promoted by the royal family), is that the alternative to Saudi rule is takeover by ISIS-like jihadis.
The young Prince also recently stated that the Kingdom has financed 20% of Hillary’s campaign (illegal actually), and he may be here looking for delivery on some of the influence he has bought. But then again, they may have extorted the money out him, because the Kingdom is in such straits.