Saudi crown prince dies abroad after illness

[babsbunny]

http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-crown-prince-dies-abroad-illness-061828289.html

By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI - Associated Press | AP – 1 hr 24 mins ago

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud, died abroad Saturday after an illness, state TV said. The death of the prince, who was in his 80s, opens questions about the succession in the critical, oil-rich U.S. ally.

Sultan was the half-brother of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who has also been ailing and underwent back surgery last week.

The most likely candidate to replace Sultan as Abdullah's successor is Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces. After Sultan fell ill, the king gave Nayef — also his half-brother — an implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the second in line to the throne.

[itsrobert]

1. Obama got another one

Good riddance.

[joshcryer]

5. LOL

[LARED]

2. Isn't there something like 7000 princes in SA? nt

[htuttle]

4. There are thousands of Saudi Princes

But most of them are actually in Monaco or Paris...

[LARED]

8. Can't say I blame them. NT

[Obamanaut]

3. People in their 80s tend to die, especially after an illness. nt

[greytdemocrat]

6. Oh come on...

I'm sure the 9/11 conspiracy groups will say he was "silenced" :silly:

[FarCenter]

7. Ottoman practice was for the new Sultan to kill all his brothers

The new Sultan might have dozens of brothers and half-brothers.

Fratricide reduced the complexities of rivalry and succession.