Not good news, but is interesting. Thought was, wow, first attack on Saudi Royal family since when? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ chronology - the house of saud
1744 The Holy Alliance Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, founder of "Wahhabism," an austere form of Islam, arrives in the central Arabian state of Najd in 1744 preaching a return to "pure" Islam. He seeks protection from the local emir, Muhammad ibn Saud, head of the Al Saud tribal family, and they cut a deal. The Al Saud will endorse al-Wahhab's austere form of Islam and in return, the Al Saud will get political legitimacy and regular tithes from al-Wahhab's followers. The religious-political alliance that al-Wahhab and Saud forge endures to this day in Saudi Arabia.
By the 19th century, the Al Saud has spread its influence across the Arabian Peninsula, stretching from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf and including the Two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina. But in 1818, forces of the Ottoman Empire sack the capital, Riyadh, and execute many of the religious and political leaders. Over the next eighty years the Al Saud attempt to reestablish their rule on the Arabian Peninsula without success.
1975 Faisal Assassinated On the morning of March 25, King Faisal's past catches up with him. At a meeting with Kuwait's petroleum minister, one of the king's nephews, Faisal ibn Musaid, slips into the room. His brother had been killed by police at the 1965 protest against the introduction of television. Ibn Musaid shoots and kills the king. The assassination comes as a violent shock, especially because the killer is a member of the royal family.
As his father had decreed, King Faisal is succeeded by his half -brother Prince Khalid, who becomes the fourth king of Saudi Arabia.
1975-1979 The Oil Boom Years During the reign of King Khalid, hundreds of billions in oil revenue pours into Saudi Arabia. The tiny population, estimated at four million and with only half a million literate males, finds it hard to absorb such wealth. The government begins a frenzied pace of buying and building. Foreign contractors flood in. Among those accumulating massive riches during these years are the bin Ladens, principal builders for the Al Saud royal family.
The boom also leads to widespread official corruption. Deals are riddled with influence peddling, bribes and oversize commissions. The Saudi royals, with their huge allowances, become notorious big spenders in Europe's casinos. Saudi leaders lose the credibility and respect of the country's religious conservatives. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saud/cron/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The attack on Thursday was the first known assassination attempt against a senior member of the royal family since 1975, when King Faisal was shot and ...
Saudi Prince Wounded in Suicide Attack
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN .. August 28, 2009
CAIRO — A suicide bomber who was trying to kill the head of Saudi Arabia’s antiterrorism efforts stumbled just short of his target and fell, detonating an explosion that had been arranged by an affiliate of Al Qaeda, a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry said Friday.
The Saudi official, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who serves as deputy interior minister and is a member of the royal family, was slightly wounded in the attack in the Red Sea port of Jidda, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, said Gen. Mansour al-Turki, the spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
The prince had allowed the wanted militant, who had come saying he wanted to turn himself in, to bypass security as a sign of good faith, General Turki said. The militant was killed by the explosion, the authorities said.
“He expressed his desire to turn himself in directly to the prince and the prince granted him his complete trust by requesting that he not be searched,” General Turki said. “And this is something that the prince does. It is not the first time, but it did not end in this deceptive manner before.”
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Saudi arm of the terrorist network, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a message posted on Islamist Internet forums and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The attack was the first terrorist assault on a member of the royal family in decades.
It came during the holy month of Ramadan, after a long day of fasting, when the prince was greeting well-wishers in his home. When the man was allowed to bypass the security gate, he stumbled and fell, detonating the explosion, according to Interior Ministry officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details.
The prince was taken to a hospital, where he was met by King Abdullah, in a meeting broadcast on Saudi television. The king could be heard on the broadcast telling the prince that the man should have been required to go through the security measures, and the prince acknowledged that it was his mistake.
The attacker was a wanted militant who had insisted on meeting the prince to announce that he was giving himself up to the authorities, General Turki said. Members of the royal family in Saudi Arabia traditionally receive visitors during Ramadan and at other times of the year.
General Turki said that the authorities were aware of plans by Islamic militants to kill government officials and religious figures, but that the bombing provided a warning to be vigilant.
Prince Mohammed is the son of the interior minister, Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, who is technically third in line to the Saudi throne.
In 2003, militants launched a 20-month wave of violence across Saudi Arabia that included the bombing of foreigners’ residential compounds in Riyadh; shootings of Western citizens and the beheading of an American; gun battles in Riyadh, Mecca and Buraida; suicide attacks on Saudi government buildings and oil facilities; and the storming of the United States Consulate in Jidda.
The Interior Ministry responded with a crackdown that is estimated to have resulted in thousands of arrests. Amnesty International reported last month that “massive human rights violations” and acts of torture had been committed by the Saudi security forces in their effort to contain radicalism.
Six weeks ago, after secret trials, more than 300 militants, many accused of having ties to the Qaeda network, were tried and convicted, and some were given prison terms of 30 years, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Jamal A. Khashoggi, the editor of Saudi Arabia’s Al Watan newspaper, said he feared that the attack was a sign of a new tactic for Al Qaeda. Prevented by security operations from carrying out complex bombing attacks, he said, the militants may shift to strategic assassinations of leaders to destabilize the Saudi state.
“It is serious,” he said. “What I am afraid of is that Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia will be transformed into an assassin’s group.”
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