Posted on 10/17/2001 11:55:06 PM PDT by RightlySo
The Saudi royal family has been thrown into panic.
It is facing the most serious threat to its rule since the 1990 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.
The difference is that the Iraqi threat was external. This time, the House of Saud faces an internal threat.
What happened? In short, the Saudis have created a monster. It began in 1979 when the Shah of Iran was overthrown by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Saudi kingdom was in panic. The kingdom had a large Shi'ite minority and the new Islamic regime in Iran was openly questioning the legitimacy of Saudi sovereignty over Mecca, the birthplace of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
From that moment, the Saudis decided to play tit for tat. Riyad would export fanatic Sunni zealotry to combat Iran's Shi'ite militancy. The first test was in Afghanistan, invaded by the Soviets months after the Iranian revolution. Riyad helped recruit thousands of Saudis and other nationals to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, Iran's neighbor.
From the start, the Taliban movement supported by Riyad was anti-Iranian. For the practical-minded Saudi leadership, the fight in Afghanistan was a muted warning to Iran to stay out of Saudi affairs. A key player in the Saudi effort was Osama bin Laden.
The Saudis were ecstatic when the Taliban helped expel Soviet troops from Afghanistan. But by that time, Bin Laden and thousands of Saudi and Egyptian nationals fighting in Afghanistan saw their mission as just beginning. Riyad was never the target. Instead, it would be Egypt, Algeria and Jordan -- in other words, secular Arab regimes.
Today, the Saudi leadership has been torn by what to do with bin Laden. The problem is not that of one man: It is that of thousands of Saudis sponsored by their families and leading princes in the kingdom as part of the Wahabi commitment to Islamic zealotry. The feeling is that any move to limit, let alone stop, the Sunni Islamic drive would break up the kingdom -- whether from within or without. Wahabi tradition is the only glue that keeps the desert Bedouin loyal to the billionnaire princes.
The dispute has pitted Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz against Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan. Both are vying to be the next king of Saudi Arabia. Abdullah has staked out his claim as head of Saudi tradition. Sultan wants to pursue a modernist direction. The result could be chaos as militants in Saudi Arabia will use terrorism in an effort to decide the succession struggle.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.