The Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud

352 Pages·1996·5.772 MB·English

by  Said K. Aburish

THE RISE, CORRUPTION
AND COMING FALL OF
THE HOUSE OF SAUD

THE RISE, CORRUPTION
AND COMING FALL OF
THE HOUSE OF SAUD
SAID K. ABURISH
St. Martin’s Griffin
New York
f t
THE RISE, CORRUPTION AND COMING FALL OF THE HOUSE OF SAUD
Copyright © 1994,1995,1996 by Said K. Aburish
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in
the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles
or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press,
Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 0-312-16119-0 (paperback)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Aburish, Said K.
The rise, corruption and coming fall of the House of Saud / Said
K. Aburish.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-312-12541-0 (cloth) 0-312-16119-0 (pbk.)
1. Saudi Arabia—History. I. Title.
DS244.A26 1995
953.8—dc20 95-10197
CIP
First published in hardcover in the United States of America in 1995
First St. Martin’s Griffin Edition: September 1996
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
In memory of my friend Saud Ibrahim
A1 Muammer, who was tortured to
death by the House of Saud, and of
my mother, who mourned him as
much as I did.

Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
1 Blood, Oil and Cynicism 1
2 In the Shadow of the Tent 9
3 The Trivialization of Everything 42
4 A Place Like No Other 78
5 Brotherhood Is Selective 117
6 The Brutal Friendship 148
7 Big Deals and Dangerous Games 181
8 The Last Line of Defence 209
9 Servants of the Crown 241
10 Oil, OPEC and the Overseers 273
11 Too Late? 303
Bibliography 316
Index 318

Acknowledgments
This list is incomplete. Thirty-four of the people who were
interviewed for this book did so on condition of anonymity.
Others allowed me to mention their names but did not want
specific facts or ideas attributed to them. Moreover, it should be
stated that some of those interviewed disagreed with my approach
and my conclusions. Indeed the opinions expressed in this book,
like its shortcomings, are mine alone. These provisions aside, I
nevertheless owe a huge debt of thanks to the following:
Jamil Mroeh, journalist; Abdel Barri Attwan, newspaper editor;
Ghassan Zakkaria, magazine editor; Robert Fisk, news corre­
spondent; Jean Diah, journalist and historian; Suleiman Firzli,
journalist; Farid A1 Khatib, journalist; Toby Odone, journalist;
Murray Gart, journalist and editor; Kassem Ja’afar, journalist;
David Boardman, television producer; Rosie Waterhouse, jour­
nalist; Pierre Salinger, journalist and former press spokesman
for President Kennedy; Mohammad Kabardai, journalist; Maria
Kelmas, journalist; Helga Graham, journalist; David Gardner,
journalist; Steven Timewell, editor; Professor Mousa Mazzawi,
authority on Sharia law; Dr Muhammad Faisal, editor; David
Helier, television writer; Khaldoun Solh, publisher.
Rosemary Hollis, Royal United Services Institute; William
Quandt, Brookings Institution; James Akins, Harold Cutler and
Hermann Eilts, former US Ambassadors to Saudi Arabia; Robert
Komer, former member of the National Security Council; Eric
Roulu, former French Ambassador to Syria and Iran.
Tewfiq A1 Sheikh, Abdel Ameer Mousa and Hamza Al Hassan,
Saudi opposition members; Sa’ad Al Bazzaz, Iraqi Government
official; Dr Gholamhussein Ra’ad, former Iranian Government
official; Paul Parker, former banker; Bob McCarthy, banker; Ziad
Beidoun, geologist; Sue Arnold, former employee of the Military
Hospital, Riyadh.
Among the names missing for reasons of anonymity are one
member of the House of Saud, two former British diplomats, three
IX
THE HOUSE OF SAUD
CIA agents, five bankers, including some with the World Bank and
the International Monetary fund, seven journalists who still visit
Saudi Arabia and three businessmen with interests there. The rest
are academics, think-tank members and others who have worked in
Saudi Arabia.
Also, as in all book-writing endeavours, there were relatives and
friends who provided much-needed companionship and comfort
without involvement in my purpose as a writer. In this regard,
thanks are due to my father, Abu Said, my cousins Khalil and
Ghuleb, my nephew Nasser and my friends Kate Beck, Sa’ida
Nusseibeh, Laura Sandys, Sue Taylor, Jan Cushing, Elke Bryer,
Gene Etchevere, Henry Elewell, James Exelby, Gregor MacKinnon
and Samir Chourbaji.