The House of Saud (Arabic: آل سعود Āl Suʻūd), also called the Al Saud, is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. The family holds thousands of members. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad ibn Saud and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud. The family advocates Salafi Islam and unification of Arabia.
The most influential member of the family is the King of Saudi Arabia. The line of succession to the Saudi throne is not father-son but brother-brother of the children of King Abdul-Aziz. The family is estimated to be composed of 15,000 members. Most power and wealth resides amongst the 2000 or so descendants of King Abdul-Aziz.
The House of Saud has gone through three phases: the First Saudi State, the Second Saudi State, and the modern nation of Saudi Arabia. The First Saudi State marked the expansion of Salafi Islam. The Second Saudi State was marked with continuous infighting. The modern nation of Saudi Arabia wields considerable influence in the Middle East. The family has had conflicts with the Ottoman Empire, the Sharif of Mecca, and the Al Rashid family of Ha'il.
George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, author, journalist, and broadcaster, and the Respect Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford West. He was previously an MP for the Labour Party, for Glasgow Hillhead and then its successor constituency Glasgow Kelvin from 1987 until 2005. He was expelled from the Labour Party in October 2003 because of his strident public opposition to the Iraq War. He subsequently became a founding member of the left-wing Respect Party, and was elected as the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005. In 2010, Galloway unsuccessfully contested the seat of Poplar and Limehouse, and in 2011 he unsuccessfully contested the Glasgow list for the Scottish Parliament, before being elected as an MP in the Bradford West by-election, 2012.
Galloway is well known for his campaigns in support of the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In the late-1980s Hansard records him delivering a ferocious assault on the Ba'ath regime, and Galloway opposed Saddam's regime until the United States-led Gulf War in 1991. Galloway is known for a visit to Iraq where he met Saddam Hussein, and delivered a speech, which ended in English with the statement "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability." He has always stated that he was addressing the Iraqi people in the speech. Galloway testified to the United States Senate in 2005 over alleged illicit payments from the United Nations' Oil for Food Programme.
Robert Lacey (born 3 January 1944) is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of bestselling biographies, including those of Henry Ford and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as works of popular history.
Lacey’s 1981 work The Kingdom and its 2009 follow-up Inside the Kingdom have now both been cited as standard study texts for the diplomatic community working inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This has led to Lacey being employed by American Television networks, ABC and PBS as a commentator on the subject.
In 2009 Lacey made the controversial documentary “Rehab for Terrorists?: Can terrorists be rehabilitated with kindness?” for the ‘Now’ show for the PBS channel.
Lacey is also ABC's Good Morning America Royal commentator and was in London for the channel covering the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. He was also seen on the BBC’s late evening coverage of the event. David Brancaccio said: "In Saudi Arabia, Robert Lacey had the kind of access most journalists only dream of."