OxBlog

Wednesday, May 01, 2002

# Posted 7:20 PM by Dan  

DESPITE WILLIAM SAFIRE'S CLAIMS, we can pretty sure who is in charge in Riyadh. In his last column, he suggests that since a source "close to Abdullah" declared that the Saudi crown prince would take a firmer stance with Bush than he actually took, "we can no longer be certain which faction is in charge in Riyadh." So a leak is indicative of a power struggle? Hardly. Sure, after deputizing Abdullah in January 1996, other members of the Saudi family revoked some of his authority. But his powers have since been restored, perhaps even enhanced. This deliberate leak occurred on the eve of Abdullah's trip in order to tell Bush he was reigning in these more radical forces.
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