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Fayez Nureldine / AFP - Getty Images
A man in Jeddah reads a newspaper on Sunday with an article about Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz's death as the country prepared to bury the former heir to the throne.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- As Saudi Arabia prepared to bury its former crown prince in Mecca on Sunday, questions swirled about how the world's largest oil producer would pass the baton to a younger generation of leaders.
Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz's death on Saturday meant that for the second time in less than 12 months the important U.S. ally has to choose a successor to 88-year-old King Abdullah.
Unlike in European monarchies, the Saudi succession does not pass from father to eldest son, but has moved along a line of brothers born to Abdul-Aziz bin Saud. A previous crown prince, Sultan, died last October. The likely candidate is Prince Salman, 76.
'Powerful conservative force': Saudi Arabia's next in line to throne dies
"There will be a meeting where the next crown prince will be decided. If you take a historical perspective it has always been done in an orderly and organized manner. Prince Salman fits the profile in many ways," said Khaled Almaeena, editor in chief of the Saudi Gazette.
The appointment of a new crown prince is not likely to change the kingdom's position on foreign or domestic policy, but King Abdullah's new heir will face a range of major challenges when he one day becomes king.
Salman, who is seen as a pragmatist with a strong grasp of the intricate balance of competing princely and clerical interests that dominate Saudi politics, was named defense minister last year.
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Salman is the current defense minister and was governor of Riyadh, the country's capital, for more than four decades.
Analysts believe he shares many of Nayef's conservative views and is unlikely to challenge the religious establishment if made king. But he also has played more of a mediator role in Saudi politics while in charge of Riyadh.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia will allow women to vote and run for public office at the next election cycle in 2015. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
"There has been an impression that Nayef is more conservative because he was the guy dealing with threats and terrorism as interior minister and Salman was meeting with businessman and intellectuals as governor of Riyadh," said Sami al-Faraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.
"The reality is there is very little difference. Both are conservative and won't rock the boat," he added. "Nayef was just a behind-the-scenes guy and Salman is more public. One was implicit; the other explicit."
But it is unclear whether Nayef's death will bring about the shift to put a younger member of the royal family in a traditional role as No. 3 in line for the throne. Among the possible contenders mentioned include King Abdullah's son Mitab, the head of the National Guard, and Nayef's son Mohammad, a senior official in the interior ministry.
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Grooming a next generation as potential rulers would mark an important shift in Saudi affairs by acknowledging that the country is moving toward a new era under the stewardship of a group raised with deeper Western connections and understandings.
"The house of Saud will need to think about what would happen in the event the king became unwell, and there is no way on earth you would hand the crown prince role to a grandson in 48 hours time. You have to find an older prince," said Michael Stephens, researcher at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in Qatar.
Whoever takes the helm in the coming years, Saudi Arabia will have to grapple with Tehran's regional ambitions as well as its nuclear program. Iran insists it does not seek nuclear weapons, but Saudi officials and their Western allies fear the country could develop an arsenal and significantly shift the balance of power in the region. One possible outcome could be a regional nuclear arms race with Saudi Arabia also seeking atomic weapons.
Saudi Arabia is also facing Arab Spring-inspired internal pressures for political reforms and greater openness. King Abdullah has pledged billions of dollars to create more state jobs and offer other government-backed programs to try to appease calls for change.
Neighboring Bahrain, meanwhile, has become a central issue for Saudi Arabia since a Shiite-led uprising last year against the ruling Sunni monarchy. Saudi forces led a Gulf military intervention to help prop up the dynasty in the strategic island nation, which is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. Saudi Arabia is now leading efforts for closer union with the country that would effectively unify key policies such as security and foreign relations. More than 50 people have died in Bahrain's unrest since February 2011.
Reuters, The Associated Press and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.
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Saudi Arabia is set to allow women to vote, but not until 2015. Saudi Arabia also does not allow ANYONE to vote on their government, which is selected by blood line and not political ability. Maybe they can vote to see how much more US money they can accept to keep the insurgents under control -- insurgents born in Saudi Arabia like Usama Bin Laden.
In Saudi Arabia and Bahrain people are reported to have died in the arab spring. In Libya,Syria,Jordan people are reported to have been murdered.I think I have invented a cure for terrorists. Stop killing.Prisons can create jobs and boost economys.
george, u r a genious, i mentioned this before sby of indonesia elected n we knew he will be elected prior to become president n i mentioned indonesia need to have prisons on every sub-states, the more the better as i do know the situation over there or follow the style of bangladesh (statement made by bangladeshi citizen working in the middle east) process all prisoners, give them passports n sent them to the middle east to work, much profitable for the country in terms of transfers of funds from workers into bangladesh, u see the govt thought 1) instead of feeding them in jails using hard earned taxes 2) influx of f/currency from overseas to boost country economy, upgrade country richness. indonesia since the fall of soeharto, has gone from bad to worse, corruption uncontrollable, criminals on every corner, tourists shy away, vast richness being robbed n the worse, my experienced, i was stopped by a boy probably aged 10-11yrs of age holding a knife demanding money. i was also told that prisons in is like las vegas, u can get anything as long as u hv liquidity.
There are at least 40 in line in House of Saud.
Look at the ages of the ruler and his next in line!
What a nation is 21st century!
In the name of oil, these Sunni Saudi despotic, autocratic, highly corrupt and bigoted seventh century mindset rulers are primarily responsible for most of the mess in the world.
They are the most ungrateful and backstabbers.
Net results of Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, oil companies and their lobbyists directed 1991 and 2003 Iraqi wars are
WINNERS
1. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and other rich ME sharks became richer by manipulating oil prices too high.
2. Oil companies and their lobbyists also benefitted. Oil prices, which were hardly $30 a barrel before 1991, shot up to $140 a barrel.
3. Since 2003, future traders, rating agencies, Wall Street and oil companies and their lobbyists transferred five trillion dollars from oil importing countries to oil exporting nations.
4. Rich Sunni ME sharks (Saudi Arabia in particular) funded Salaffi and Wahhabi mosques and Islamic radicals and terrorists all over the world. These Sunni Islamic radicals and terrorists are rampaging all over the world. World’s 80 percent of problems are due to them.
Now the same gangs are preparing for interventions in Iran just like WMDs in Iraq.
By price manipulations, oil which was around $40 has now gone to $100 through sanctions on Iranian oil.
Can't one see beyond oil? Are there no limits to greediness of some?
Jesus said, "The love of money is the root of all evil". If Jesus said one thing right, that would be it. We allow ourselves to accept the evil of the Saudis so that we can benefit from their money. It is our fault that we keep buying their oil because we refuse to find alternatives. Blood is on our hands too.
I dont think Saudi Arabia supports terrorists, however because of their wealth and the crazy fundamentalists Islamic religion they have and exported to other countries by funding religious schools they are a root cause of terrorism around the world. Their wealth gives them tremendous influence in the Muslim faith, and anything we can do to reduce our dependence on their oil will reduce that influence.
@square dude,
You do remember that the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centers was a Saudi enterprise, don't you?
All except one of the hijackers was Saudi. All the money for the attack came from Saudi Arabia with a substantial part coming from Saudi "princes." al-Quaeda was led by a Saudi from an extremely prominent Saudi family. The actual "green light" for the attack was given by Nayef himself. Most ME scholars and terrorism experts believe that the Bush administration struck a deal with the Saudi ruling family that if they would quash al-Queade in Saudi Arabia, that the US would divert attention to Iraq. For the Saudi's this means that the ruling family would stay in power, unchallenged by Britain or the US, and that the blame would be shifted to Saudi Arabia's then current nemesis, Iraq.
Two countries that are not as well thought of in the Muslim community as Americans seem to believe are Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iranians are not Arabs and do not speak Arabic. They's two strikes against them. Saudi Arabia is controlled by a small Wahabi sect that is ultra-fundamentalist and violently anti-Shiite. Iran is a Shiite country. Iraq is controlled by a Shiite majority. And Syria is controlled by a tiny Alawite Shiite sect.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have been at loggerheads for decades. Both countries want to be the leaders of the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia is currently sending lots of arms to Syrian rebels to try to topple one of the three Shiite governments. Iran is sending arms to Assad to keep him in power. But what could be a cause for future concern is that there is a huge number foreign workers (around 8 million) are mostly Iranian Shiites (and about 12% of Saudi citizens are Shiites.) This is a considerable force that Iran can mobilize within Saudi Arabia if they perceive that there is any weakness in the aging Saudi Royal family. Something to watch for.
Actually it was Paul who said that.
Saudis have acquired wealth by manipulating oil prices through their puppets.
Still see their unlimited greediness!.
Some important rich Saudi, UAE and other sharks have swindled the British and US banks too.
Was it worth it to station US forces without Bibles to safeguard the promoters of world killing machines, Islamic militants with different labels?
Jonathan-1982062
I like your post. I mostly agree. I do think some NOT ALL of the worlds problems are from what happens regarding Saudi Arabia. ALtough we the U.S. people have benefited for along time because of them. The world is just in chaos and there is enough blame to go around for every one I think.
I personally do not like to point the finger of blame on just one thing or group regarding the problems the world faces today. I do think the U.S. is responsible too for what's is happening.
One way WE can better help ourselves. I think IS for us to become even more competative in the world. This should increase our strenght more and give us a better edge to progress and move on. No matter how the game of life is played there will always be winners and loosers. Especially if you look at it that way. I would rather play the game WIN WIN so everyone gets a fair share. The only thing is I want OUR fair share to be a little larger than the next guys.
What a world we live in today. If I want good health I must take care of my self. If my health is not the best then I have a responsibilty to take better care of myself first. It doesn't mean I should not care or be interest in the other guy. But I don't want my health to be deminished to the point that I can not be productive and competative.
I think healthy governments can do wonders for there people and better enable the world to better function.. Though when you ad in the so many factors, Terrorist, Hatred, Religions, attitudes, ideals, and much more even a good government seems destined to have a long rocky road.
In this 21st. century changes happen so quick that it is so difficult to process and make the best decisions for long and short terms. Sooner or later everything breaks and needs repair or replacement. BUT with GOOD service and maintenance you can get more like out of a car. Nothing I know of last forever and everything will keep changing.
Fran NJ: I agree that we have to be competitive! Add innovative.
Just recall about substitutes for oil being tried in Detroit right in late 1910s. Those who tried them got bankrupted by oil companies and auto industry.
Even now such a simple thing is being throttled and controlled by the oil companies, auto industries and lobbyists.
Only in IT industry, they are working as many have not been able to understand what is going on!
There are more interest groups working behind scenes to control our lives!!!!
The Saudis are crazy to pull Bahrain closer to them in obvious ways; the Shia majority there feels under more and more pressure, with little to lose, which is not a happy situation. The Saudis have a terrible record of treating their current 10% Shia minority, which most Bahrainis are well aware of. With the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquartered there that becomes our problem; I'd bet few of us want to be involved in such a sectarian conflict.
The "younger generation" is a 77 years old? No wonder these people are stuck in the dark ages.
Rulers are so "young"!
So with 40 belonging to the House of Saud, no wonder some support the US and some others invent, support and export Islamic militants like al-Qaida, MB and others.
With so many faces which face one can trust?
I knew prince Sultan from the years i worked and lived in Saudi Arabia. He was a very progressive Arab, much like Faisal had been. I never met or even heard of this most recent prince. Prince Sultan loved being photographed on his farm tractor. And he opened himself to settle complaints and disputes at least once monthly. The current king is pretty harsh, a main line Wahib that really does not care for Americans or any non Muslim workers there. He was head of the national Guard before becoming king and was even more hostile against Americans at that time.
But if they don't want to have such a fast turn over of kings, they need to find one no older than 60 instead of all these 80 some year olds. A younger man may actually rule as king rather than the Islamic Clerics around him. Ell, that's my 2 cents worth.
House of Saud is a house of confusion now and sooner or later it is going to collapse.
Even the US, think tanks, UN, human rights and women groups can't save them.
The best thing we can do is to keep away from bitter Shiites vs Sunni battles.
Better for the world if the whole damn house of Saud just vanished... Corruption beyond belief, repression beyond compare... Arrogance that is supreme... Hell they even renamed the country in honor of their namesake...