Fall of the House of Saud: Robert Baer on the CIA & Security in the Middle East (2003)
The House of
Saud (
Arabic: آل سعود
Āl Saʻūd) is the ruling royal family of
Saudi Arabia. The family has thousands of members. It is composed of the descendants of
Muhammad bin Saud and his brothers, though the ruling faction of the family is primarily led by the descendants of
Abdulaziz Ibn Saud.
The most influential member of the
Royal family is the
King of Saudi Arabia, currently
King Salman. The throne was designed to pass from one son of the first king,
Ibn Saud, to another. His deputy
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is also from the ruling
House of Saud, and the king-appointed cabinet includes more members of the royal family. While the monarchy is hereditary now, future
Saudi kings will be chosen by a committee of Saudi princes, in line with a
2006 Royal Decree.[1]
The family is estimated to be composed of 15,
000 members, but the majority of the power and wealth is possessed by a group of only about 2,000.[2][3]
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 Wahhabism.
The Second Saudi State was marked with continuous infighting.
Modern Saudi Arabia wields considerable influence in the
Middle East. The family has had conflicts with the
Ottoman Empire, the
Sharif of Mecca, the Al Rashid family of
Ha'il, and numerous
Islamist groups both inside and outside Saudi Arabia.
The head of the House of Saud is the King of Saudi Arabia who serves as
Head of State and monarch of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The King holds almost absolute political power. The King appoints ministers to his cabinet who supervise their respective ministries in his name. The key ministries of
Defence, the Interior, and
Foreign Affairs are reserved for the Al Saud, as are most of the thirteen regional governorships. Most portfolios, however, such as
Finance, Labor, Information, Planning, Petroleum Affairs and
Industry, have traditionally been given to commoners, often with junior Al Saud members serving as their deputies.
House of Saud family members also hold many of the
Kingdom's critical military and governmental departmental posts.
Ultimate power in the Kingdom has always rested upon the Al Saud, though support from the Ulema, the merchant community, and the population at large has been key to the maintenance of the royal family's political status quo.
Long term political and government appointments, such as those of
King Abdullah, who was
Commander of the
National Guard from
1963 to
2010, former
Crown Prince Sultan, who was
Minister of Defence and
Aviation from 1962 until his death in
2011,
Prince Mutaib
Minister of
Municipal and
Rural Affairs from
1975 to 2009, former
Crown Prince Nayef who was the
Minister of Interior from 1975 to
2012, and the current King Salman, who was governor of the
Riyadh Region from 1963 to 2011, have perpetuated the creation of fiefdoms where senior princes have, often, though not exclusively, co-mingled their personal wealth with that of their respective domains. They have often appointed their own sons to senior positions within their own fiefdom. Examples of these include Prince
Mutaib bin Abdullah as assistant commander in the National Guard until 2010;
Prince Khalid bin
Sultan as assistant minister of defence until
2013; Prince
Mansour bin Mutaib as assistant minister for Municipal and Rural Affairs until he replaced his father in 2009; and
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as assistant minister in the
Interior Ministry. In cases, where portfolios have notably substantial budgets, appointments of younger, often full, brothers have been necessary, as deputies or vice ministers, ostensibly to share the wealth and the burdens of responsibility, of each fiefdom. Examples of these include Prince
Abdul Rahman who was vice minister of defence and aviation under
Prince Sultan; Prince
Badr, deputy to King Abdullah in the National Guard; Prince
Sattam, who was
Deputy Riyadh Governor during King Salman's term; and
Prince Ahmed, who held the deputy minister's portfolio under
Prince Nayef's interior ministry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Saud
Saudi Arabia is said to be the world's largest source of funds and promoter of
Salafist jihadism, which forms the ideological basis of terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Taliban,
ISIS and others. Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to
Sunni terrorist groups worldwide, according to
Hillary Clinton. According to a secret
December 2009 paper signed by the US secretary of state, "Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups."
Reports have surfaced that the
Saudi government supported the
Iraqi insurgency in the
2000s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State-sponsored_terrorism#Saudi_Arabia