In November 2018, Shoebat.com reported that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi appeared to be part of a conspiracy by elder members of the Saud family to strip power from Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) because they did not trust his ability to lead the country and feared he might put her in danger for the future. Subsequent stories have appeared to confirm this as well as the actions of the Saudi government.
The recent attacks on Saudi ARAMCO facilities have attracted much attention. Some people immediately blamed Iran for them as part of their proxy support of Houthi rebels. As many have noted, further investigation is necessary but has not been done.
As the details about the attack begin to emerge, members and affiliates of the Saud family have made an interesting declaration, in which they said that the attack is proof that MbS is unfit for his position and should be further stripped of his power.
It has sparked concern among several prominent branches of the ruling Al Saud family, which numbers around 10,000 members, about the crown prince’s ability to defend and lead the world’s largest oil exporter, according to a senior foreign diplomat and five sources with ties to the royals and business elite. All spoke on condition of anonymity.
The attack has also fanned discontent among some in elite circles who believe the crown prince, known in the West by the initials MbS, has sought too tight a grip on power, the sources said. Some of these people said the event has also fueled criticism among those who believe he has pursued an overly aggressive stance towards Iran.
“There is a lot of resentment” about the crown prince’s leadership, said one of the sources, a member of the Saudi elite with royal connections. “How were they not able to detect the attack?”
This person added that some people in elite circles are saying they have “no confidence” in the crown prince, an assertion echoed by the four other sources and the senior diplomat. (source)
MbS has come out and defended himself by saying that it is hard to defend Saudi Arabia was difficult because of the kingdom’s large size and the scale of threats it faces. However, because she is the world’s largest oil exporter and a major ally of the United States in the Middle East as well as how Salman is officially next in line to the throne, the incident has caused a divide between the older and younger members of the family as well as society
Recall that MbS is popular among young Saudis for easing social restrictions, his position on women, and attempts at widening Saudi’s oil-based economy. However, the elderly distrust him because of what appears to be a legitimate fear that his liberal attitudes may give Turkey latitude in the future for invasion and the destruction of the Saud family’s power. Recall that MbS recently came under international criticism over the murder a year ago of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate, which the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has said the crown prince ordered and for which he said he took “full responsibility”.
The Saudi Kingdom is very weak and the elders know this. The extent to which MbS understands the seriousness of this is not fully understood, because while he appears to have good intentions, at least somewhat, Turkey is ruthless and will seek every opportunity she gets to seize power. As an ancient imperial power, the self-professed guardian of Islam for centuries, and now the eighth most powerful military in the world, she has already made agreements with Iran and other Gulf States to target Saudi in the future. This is why Saudi Arabia’s goose is cooked, for many Muslims hate her as well as powerful militaries hate her, she is surrounded, and the only force of protection that she has is her alliance with the US as her main source of oil to run her war machine. If the Americans were to stop buying oil from the Saudis, it fundamentally does not matter who buys from her next because any gap in a period of economic change, no matter how short, would likely be exploited by Turkey in order that she could send troops in and kill the Saud family.
The Turks are very smart, and they have learned well from the Americans, Germans, and Russians for how to create crises and then exploit them for gain. The fake Turkish coup in 2016 appears to have been engineered by Erdogan in order to keep him in power and expand his influence, and it was done effectively. Given the open declarations that Erdogan has made about Turkey and his expressed desires to revive the Ottoman Empire, he or his government would not back away from an opportunity to manufacture a crisis, or exploit a crisis, or do both in order to hand each member of the Saud family from a Turkish khazouk.
It is possible that elder members of the Saud family may have known, or possibly even provoked an attack on ARAMCO facilities. Nobody clearly knows what happened. However, like Turkey, the Saud family, especially the older members, know well how to use crises to their advantage, especially if it means their survival.
MbS may have made done some decent things, but it is possible that he is not fully aware or ready to deal with the serious things that Saudi Arabia faces, which is a coming world war and the potential of being taken over by Turkey. If that is the case, it is not a surprise why the elder members of the Saud family, while they are still alive, would try to manage as many affairs as they can. However, they will not live forever, and if they are not killed by MbS, they will die.
The future of Saudi Arabia, at least for the royals, does not look good, and if they are not very careful, they will likely not survive the next twenty years, let alone century.