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| Arabia | |
| Young Prince Leads Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen | |
| 2015-04-22 | |
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... for his father King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... , but Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's defense minister is still in his early 30s. Just weeks after he was appointed to the key post in January, Prince Mohammed bin Salman assumed huge responsibility when the kingdom sent its armed forces into conflict. The young prince has overseen nearly a month of air strikes by a Saudi-led regional coalition against the Yemeni rebels. Eight Saudi troops have also died in skirmishes along the border. Prince Mohammed, part of a new generation of Saudi rulers, also heads the royal court, is special adviser to his 79-year-old father and sits on two key political and economic councils. "He is the strong man in Saudi Arabia," a Western diplomatic source said. "Look what this man is controlling," including access to the king. "He oversees everything important which is going on in this country." The exact age of Mohammed, who sports a full dark beard, is uncertain. A biography from the Saudi embassy in Washington does not give his birthdate. Analysts and local media have reported various ages but none higher than 35. As chief of the royal court he holds "a position of immense power in an absolute monarchy," wrote Bruce Riedel, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who directs the Brookings Intelligence Project in Washington. He said Prince Mohammed oversees the kingdom's security in conjunction with Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who headed a crackdown on Al-Qaeda a decade ago, and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah -- minister of the National Guard, a parallel army. According to a biography from the MiSK Foundation, which Prince Mohammed established for youth development, he had "a professional career of 10 years" and was active in business and philanthropy before entering public service. In 2009 he became special adviser to his father who was then the governor of Riyadh, before heading his court from 2013 after Salman was named crown prince. In April last year Prince Mohammed became a state minister and cabinet member, before his appointment as defense minister and chief of the royal court on January 23, the day Salman became king upon the death of his predecessor Abdullah at the age of about 90. "He has a reputation for being aggressive and ambitious, as might be expected," Riedel said of the prince, whose father also served as defense minister. The war in Yemen, which the U.N. says has left hundreds dead and thousands maimed, has raised Prince Mohammed's profile even higher. Newspaper photographs have shown the defense minister receiving his foreign counterparts and, in one case, leaning over and clasping the hand of a maimed Saudi soldier. On Twitter, which is widely used in the tightly controlled Islamic kingdom, Prince Mohammed has won praise. "All are impressed by him, he is irreplaceable", one user wrote. Another called him "a strong and brave personality", although a detractor spoke of "the reckless Saudi who has no experience in war". The air raids are aimed at reversing the advances of Iran-backed Shiite Houthis and their allies and restoring the authority of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who has fled to Riyadh. Prince Mohammed is reputed to enjoy good relations with his armed forces, which comprise about 300,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen. "There is a remarkable fluidity between the politicianship and the senior officer corps who are in charge of the day-to-day operations," said Nawaf Obaid, a visiting fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs who last year authored a proposal for a Saudi defense doctrine. Prince Mohammed's star could rise even further, according to the diplomatic source, "as long as the war runs well". | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #3 He gave a pretty good interview a week or two ago. Sold me, though I already tilted towards his side after the retaliation against ISJV slaughtering their slaves. I'm still cross-armed waiting to see if the new king of sod is serious or just trying to fill a chair. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2015-04-22 11:56 |
| #2 The media circus has moved on. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2015-04-22 11:12 |
| #1 Incidentally, anybody knows whatever happened to the charismatic king of Jordan leading his dauntless warriors in, richly merited, revenge on ISIS? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2015-04-22 09:12 |