Steve Clemons on Rift between Prince Bandar + Prince Turki

[mod mom]

THERE HAS BEEN MUCH DISCUSSION ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SAUDI AMBASSADOR PRINCE TURKI AL-FAISAL'S ABRUPT EXIT FROM THE US RECENTLY AND STEVE CLEMONS (WASHINGTON NOTE FAME) GIVES SOME INTERESTING INSIGHT:

Prince Bandar Allegedly Advocating Military Response Against Iran
Steve Clemons
READ MORE: Iraq, Dick Cheney, Israel, George W. Bush

(Close aide to Saudi National Security Advisor Bandar bin Sultan, Rihab Massoud)

The escalating tension between Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the current Saudi National Security Advisor and former Saudi Ambassador to the United States, and Prince Turki al-Faisal, who only this this week resigned his position as Saudi Ambassador in Washington, is taking some new and disturbing turns.

An Associated Press story written by Cairo-based correspondent Salah Nasrawi cites a Saudi official as saying that:
Many in the royal family concluded that if he stayed longer, things might even get worse.

While the AP story cites only one official with "close working ties with the Saudi Foreign Ministry," the comment sounds seriously at odds with the reports that I have been receiving from dozens of Saudi commentators within and around the Saudi royal family and foreign ministry.

What is clear from reports is that while King Abdullah did not stop an escalation in tensions between Bandar and Turki, no one pushed Turki to leave or resign. In fact, the King expected Prince Turki to find his own way of dealing with Bandar and his staff -- not to resign. If anything, Turki's resignation forces the King to find a way to reconnect Turki and his clan of brothers back to the regent and will probably cause damage to Bandar's loftier ambitions.

-snip
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/prince-bandar-allegedly-a_b_36364.html

[Ken Burch]

1. Am I the only person who enjoys the fact that there's actually someone in the House of Saud

Who's named Prince Turki?
And how soon til we meet his uncle, Crown Prince Douchebag?

[mod mom]

2. Earlier discussion on DU (a couple of days ago):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2650432&mesg_id=2650432

[smalll]

3. I think you meant "rift" -- I was a bit disappointed when I clicked on this

and didn't find a transcript of the fast-paced comedy stylings of the princes. The Hope and Crosby of today's Middle East, off on The Road to Morocco.

[mod mom]

4. corrected.

[ToolTex]

5. I thought Bandar was CEO of the Carlyle Group, where the real money is now.

Why would he want to be King of the Saud?

[UTUSN]

6. Whenever Carlyle Group is mentioned, I remind that a Jimmy CARTER staffer

is who co-founded it.

*******QUOTE*******

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3994.htm

.... In a column posted yesterday on Salon.com, Joe Conason writes: "Preferring to avoid public scrutiny for obvious reasons, executives at the Carlyle Group usually say nothing about their firm's connections with the Bush dynasty. But last April 23, Carlyle managing director David Rubenstein spoke quite frankly about the comfy sinecure he provided to George W. Bush more than a decade ago -- and how useless Bush turned out to be. Whether he knew it or not, Rubenstein's remarks to the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association were recorded."

Rubenstein said, "We put (Bush) on the board and (he) spent three years. Came to all the meetings. Told a lot of jokes. Not that many clean ones. And after a while I kind of said to him, after about three years - you know, I'm not sure this is really for you. Maybe you should do something else. Because I don't think you're adding that much value to the board. You don't know that much about the company.

Rubenstein continued: "He said, 'Well, I think I'm getting out of this business anyway. And I don't really like it that much. So I'm probably going to resign from the board.' And I said, thanks - didn't think I'd ever see him again. His name is George W. Bush. He became President of the United States. So you know if you said to me, name 25 million people who would maybe be President of the United States, he wouldn't have been in that category. So you never know. Anyway, I haven't been invited to the White House for any things." ....

********UNQUOTE*******

[Oilwellian]

7. Juan Cole is sorry to see Turki leave

Cooper also reports the abrupt and mysterious resignation of Saudi Ambassador to the US Turki al-Faisal after only 22 months in Washington. Prince Turki has been an effective diplomat and has done a lot of outreach work, addressing ordinary American audiences (a style very unlike that of Prince Bandar bin Sultan, his long-serving predecessor). Prince Turki is the only Saudi official I know of publicly to espouse Gandhian principles of non-violence for the Palestinian cause. I met him more than once and was impressed by his humanity and acumen. I'm sorry to see him leave Washington. There are rumors that he is leaving to become foreign minister of the kingdom. If that were the case, I should have thought the promotion would be announced along with his resignation, which he called a "retirement." The way this is being handled looks more to me as though he lost some big policy fight with the establishment in Riyadh. But we shall see.

http://www.juancole.com/

[mod mom]

8. Since there are reports of the King ailing, we can only hope that it is Prince

Turki and not Bandar who ascends to rule SA. Let's hope Prof Cole is correct:

"will probably cause damage to Bandar's loftier ambitions"