Crescent International
The king is on life support while the kingdom is on autopilot for now.
London,
November 27, 2012, 10:00 DST
In poor health for many years, the 89-year-old Saudi monarch, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has gone into a coma, according to a London based Saudi journalist working for Al-Sharq al-Awsat (the newspaper is Saudi owned). Abdullah had a 14-hour surgery for his back in a Riyadh hospital on November 18 but his condition deteriorated in the last 48 hours, according to the same source.
In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a Riyadh hospital following his surgery, King Abdullah is being kept alive by a life-support system. Hospital sources say that the monarch’s basic organs—heart, lungs and kidneys—are no longer functioning.
The November 18 surgery was performed to correct “a ligamentary slackening in the upper back”. In October 2011, King Abdullah had a similar operation to tighten ligaments around his third vertebra. And in late 2010, he had two rounds of back surgery in the United States after suffering a herniated disc.
He returned to the kingdom facing a storm raised by the Arab Spring. Immediately, he announced a relief package of $36 billion to win people’s loyalty. He also pledged to build 100,000 homes in the next five years to house and estimated 500,000 people without proper living accommodation.
The king’s rapidly deteriorating health has caused deep concern in the kingdom because of succession issues. While his half-brother, Salman bin Abdul Aziz serves as Crown Prince—he was appointed in June 2012 when then Crown Prince Nayef suddenly dropped dead—he is also in poor health. Salman is 76 years old but he suffers from Alzhemiers and multiple other ailments.
Abdullah has seen two crown princes—Sultan and Nayef—precede him to the grave. Sultan was in any case quite old at 86 and was suffering from cancer but Nayef appeared to be in good health despite his 79 years. Further, he had been in charge of the interior ministry since 1975 and had his pulse on all matters of state. His sudden death has shaken the secretive kingdom to its roots.
In an attempt to create some sense of stability, on November 6, Muhammad bin Nayef was appointed the new interior minister to replace Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz. Muhammad is 53 and had served for many years as his father’s assistant minister who delegated much authority to him to train him.
While Muhammad bin Nayef will probably manage this important portfolio reasonably well, it is the king’s health and anticipated death that is causing jitters not only in the kingdom but also globally. He is one of the last senior princes with considerable experience in running the affairs of state. He had also cultivated good contacts internationally.
While crown prince, Abdullah was de facto ruler in the last years of Fahd’s kingship, the latter being incapacitated due to numerous illnesses.
Now Abdullah faces the same dilemma. The doctors may keep him artificially alive, much like former Israeli prime minister Aerial Sharon, the Butcher of Beirut, who survives as a vegetable, but he will not be much use in terms of governing. The king is on life support while the kingdom is on autopilot for now.
This might also explain why during the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, not much was heard from the kingdom. The Saudis keep their heads low and their mouths shut when it comes to defending Muslims, especially in Palestine. They are much more adroit at creating fitna among Muslims.
Turbulence is one word that would best describe what is about to happen in the kingdom.
END
The royal court has not issued any statement about the king’s condition. What should it say: that the monarch is in a vegetative state?
With King Abdullah virtually incapacitated—and according to some reports in a coma—the battle for succession has heated up. The appointm...
A citizen of Saudi Arabia advises the king to leave while there is still time. He can leave now in honour or face the inevitable humiliation...
Something is not well in the desert kingdom. King Abdullah made a sudden announcement about appointing his half-brother Prince Muqrin as dep...
