Saudis fire adviser over Iraq article / Saudi ambassador resigns

"Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it had fired a security adviser who wrote in The Washington Post that the world's top oil exporter would intervene in Iraq once the United States withdrew troops.
Saudi Arabia's government said last weekend that there was no truth in Nawaf Obaid's Nov. 29 op-ed column, which suggested that the kingdom would back Iraq's Sunni Muslims in the event of a wider sectarian conflict.
. . . 'We felt that we could add more credibility to his claims as an independent contractor by terminating our consultancy agreement with him,' Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, told the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia." [1]

"Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.
Saudi government officials deny that any money from their country is being sent to Iraqis fighting the government and the U.S.-led coalition.
But the U.S. Iraq Study Group report said Saudis are a source of funding for Sunni Arab insurgents.
. . . Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. ally in the Middle East. The Iraq Study Group report noted that its government has assisted the U.S. military with intelligence on Iraq.
But Saudi citizens have close tribal ties with Sunni Arabs in Iraq, and sympathize with their brethren in what they see as a fight for political control _ and survival _ with Iraq's Shiites.
. . . The Saudi government is determined to curb the growing influence of its chief rival in the region, Iran.
. . . Saudi officials say the kingdom has worked with all sides to reconcile Iraq's warring factions." [2]

"Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, flew out of Washington yesterday after informing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his staff that he would be leaving the post after only 15 months on the job, according to U.S. officials and foreign envoys. There has been no formal announcement from the kingdom.
The abrupt departure is particularly striking because his predecessor, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, spent 22 years on the job. The Saudi ambassador is one of the most influential diplomatic positions in Washington and is arguably the most important overseas post for the oil-rich desert kingdom.
. . . As Saud's health has declined, Turki has increasingly been rumored as a possible replacement for his older brother.
. . . In the 1980s, while he was intelligence chief, he reportedly met al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden several times during the U.S.- and Saudi-backed support of mujaheddin fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He subsequently denounced bin Laden.
Turki later served as ambassador to Britain." [3]

"Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.
The Saudis have argued strenuously against an American pullout from Iraq, citing fears that Iraq’s minority Sunni Arab population would be massacred.
. . . 'It’s a hypothetical situation, and we’d work hard to avoid such a structure,' one Arab diplomat in Washington said. But, he added, 'If things become so bad in Iraq, like an ethnic cleansing, we will feel we are pulled into the war.'
. . . The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who told his staff on Monday that he was resigning his post, recently fired Nawaf Obaid, a consultant who wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post.
. . . Arab diplomats said Tuesday that Mr. Obaid’s column reflected the view of the Saudi government, which has made clear its opposition to an American pullout from Iraq.
. . . A former adviser to the royal family said that Prince Turki had submitted his resignation several months ago but that it was refused." [4]

"King Abdullah warned Vice President Dick Cheney during a meeting in Riyadh three weeks ago that Saudi Arabia would back the Sunnis if the Americans withdrew from Iraq and a civil war ensued.
. . . A member of the Saudi royal family with knowledge of the discussions between Mr. Cheney and King Abdullah said the king had presented Mr. Cheney with a plan to raise oil production to force down the price, in hopes of causing economic turmoil for Iran without becoming directly involved in a confrontation.
. . . 'The Saudis made a big mistake by following the Americans when they had no plan,' said Khalid al-Dakhil, a professor of political sociology at King Saud University in Riyadh. 'If the Saudis had intervened earlier and helped the Sunnis they could have found a political solution to their differences, instead of the bloodshed we are seeing today.'
'There is a segment in this country that will do everything the U.S. wants,' said Turki al-Rasheed, who runs a group that seeks to encourage democracy in the Persian Gulf. 'But fortunately the big leaders know this whole agenda will take us to hell.' " [5]

"Eighteen months ago, Prince Bandar bin Sultan ended a legendary 22-year career as the face of Saudi Arabia in the United States. . . . However, Bandar . . . is at least as pivotal today in influencing U.S. policy as he was in his years as ambassador.
. . . Turki was kept so out of the loop that Bandar often did not inform him he was in town.
. . . The rise of Bandar, who is now Saudi national security adviser, may reflect the waning influence of the sons of the late King Faisal . . . Turki . . . has poor chemistry with King Abdullah, they note.
. . . As relations among the royals frayed over the past year, Turki was increasingly squeezed financially.
. . . The al-Faisal brothers . . . have consistently urged dialogue with Tehran and are wary of joint U.S.-Saudi efforts against Iran and its surrogates.
. . . After a year of internal tensions and failure to pay bills, Turki was not invited to Riyadh for Cheney's visit, Saudi sources confirmed. And Bandar returned to Washington again right after the meeting to discuss the specifics of the joint efforts. Two weeks later, Turki quit." [6]

sources
[1] Reuters. Saudi Arabia Fires Security Consultant for Iraq Remarks. December 7, 2006.
[2] The Associated Press. Saudis Reportedly Funding Iraqi Sunnis. December 8, 2006.
[3] The Washington Post. Saudi Ambassador Abruptly Resigns, Leaves Washington. December 12, 2006.
[4] The New York Times. Saudis Say They Might Back Sunnis if U.S. Leaves Iraq. December 13, 2006.
[5] The New York Times. Bickering Saudis Struggle for an Answer to Iran’s Rising Influence in the Middle East. December 22, 2006.
[6] The Washington Post. Royal Intrigue, Unpaid Bills Preceded Saudi Ambassador's Exit. December 23, 2006.

related source
The Washington Post. Stepping Into Iraq: Saudi Arabia Will Protect Sunnis if the U.S. Leaves. November 29, 2006.

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iraq Nawaf Obaid prince turki al-faisal saudi arabia
prince bandar bin sultan
posted: thursday, december 14, 2006, 2:38 PM ET
update: monday, december 25, 2006, 4:08 PM ET