Coup in Saudi Arabia

A coup in the House of Saud?

The secret is out: the ascension of Mohammad bin Salman, displacing CIA favorite Mohammad bin Nayef as Crown Prince, was in fact a white coup

Pepe Escobar

AsianTimes

,

20 July, 2017

What has been an open secret across the Arab world is not a secret anymore even in the US: What happened last month in the deep recesses of the House of Saud with the ascension of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, aka MBS, was in fact a white coup.

Nearly a month ago, as I’ve written elsewhere, a top Middle East source close to the House of Saud told me: “The CIA is very displeased with the firing of [former Crown Prince] Mohammad bin Nayef. Mohammad bin Salman is regarded as sponsoring terrorism. In April 2014 the entire royal families of the UAE and Saudi Arabia were to be ousted by the US over terrorism. A compromise was worked out that Nayef would take over running the kingdom to stop it.”

The source also referred to an insistent narrative then pervading selected Middle East geopolitical circles, according to which US intel, “indirectly”, had stopped another coup against the young Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim al-Thani, orchestrated by Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, with help from Blackwater/Academi’s Eric Prince’s army of mercenaries in the United Arab Emirates. Zayed, crucially, happens to be MBS’s mentor.

But instead of a coup in Doha, what happened was actually a coup in Riyadh. According to the source, “the CIA blocked the coup in Qatar and the Saudis reacted by dumping the CIA-selected Mohammed bin Nayef, who was to be the next king. The Saudis are scared. The monarchy is in trouble, as the CIA can move the army in Saudi Arabia against the king. This was a defensive move by MBS.”

Now, almost a month later, confirmation of the white coup/regime change in Riyadh has been splashed on the front page of The New York Times, attributed mainly to the proverbial “current and former United States officials”.

That, in essence, is code for the US deep state, and confirms how the Central Intelligence Agency is extremely annoyed by the ouster of Nayef, a trusted partner and former counterterrorism czar. The CIA on the other hand simply does not trust arrogant, inexperienced and hubristic MBS.

Warrior Prince MBS has been responsible for conducting the war on Yemen – which not only killed thousands of civilians but also spawned a tragic famine/humanitarian crisis. If that was not enough, MBS was the architect of the blockade of Qatar, followed by the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, and now totally discredited as Doha has refused to concede to outlandish “demands” in essence concocted in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Nayef, crucially, was opposed to the blockade of Qatar.

It’s no wonder the House of Saud and the UAE are already backtracking on Qatar, not so much because of pressure recently applied by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the ground, but mostly because of shadow play: the US deep state making sure its interests in the Gulf – starting with the Al-Udeid base in Qatar – should not be messed with.

A reckless ‘gambler’

MBS, although treated with (velvet) kid gloves across the Beltway because of the same old “Saudi Arabia is our ally” meme, is for all practical purposes the most dangerous man in the Middle East.

That’s exactly what the famous December 2015 memo by the BND – German intelligence – was already stating: The young “gambler” was poised to cause a lot of trouble. Financial circles in the European Union are absolutely terrified that his geopolitical gambles may end up sending millions of retirement accounts into the dust.

The BND memo crucially detailed how the House of Saud, in Syria, had bankrolled the creation of the Army of Conquest – basically a revamp of Jabhat al-Nusra, aka al-Qaeda in Syria – as well as ideological sister outfit Ahrar al-Sham.

That amounted to the House of Saud aiding, abetting and weaponizing Salafi-jihadi terrorism. And this from a regime that, after seducing US President Donald Trump to star in an embarrassing sword dance, felt it was free to accuse Qatar of being a terrorist nation.

MBS’s blockade of Qatar has nothing to do with silencing al-Jazeera; it relates to the Saudi defeat in Syria, and the fact that Doha abandoned the “Assad must go” dead-ender to the benefit of allying itself with Tehran to sell liquefied natural gas to Europe out of their jointly owned North Dome/South Pars giant gas field.

MBS – as well as his ailing dad – skipped the Group of 20 Summit in Hamburg; the Qatar embarrassment was too much of a burden, considering for instance Doha’s position as a powerful investor in both France and the UK. Still, all eyes are on him; MBS has promised to turbocharge the vicious Sunni/Shiite confrontation, taking the war “inside Iran”.

And further on down the road, there’s the question of how MBS is going to handle the fraught-with-risk Aramco initial public offering.

It ain’t over till the (abaya-clad) fat lady sings.

Saudi Arabia - Bin Salman's Coup Is A Model For His Own Ouster

Moonof Alabama,

20 July, 2017

Someone wanted the public to know that the new Saudi clown prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MbS) took up his new position by unceremoniously disposing his predecessor Mohammed bin Nayef (MbN) by force. The juicy details, true or not, were briefed to Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times on the same day:

As next in line to be king of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Nayef was unaccustomed to being told what to do. Then, one night in June, he was summoned to a palace in Mecca, held against his will and pressured for hours to give up his claim to the throne.

By dawn, he had given in, and Saudi Arabia woke to the news that it had a new crown prince: the king’s 31-year-old son, Mohammed bin Salman.

Bin Nayef was a darling of the CIA and his disposal was not welcome. It may well be that the author of the tale of his ouster has his office in Langley, Virginia.

We had correctly called the MbN removal a coup and predicted that "the old al-Saud family king [..] will be offed soon." From the current Reuters piece:

Quoting a witness at the palace, one Saudi source said King Salman this month pre-recorded a statement in which he announces the transfer of the throne to his son. The announcement could be broadcast at any time, perhaps as soon as September.

We also wrote that "[m]any Arab peninsula citizens will want to see [the new clown prince's] head on a pike."

The details of how MbS deposed the previous crown prince MbN will enrage further parts of the Saudi citizens. Additional leaks about extensive MbS contacts with Israel will increase the bad feelings against him. This especially as Israeli is furtherencroaching on the al-Haram a-Sharif and the Al-Aqsa mosque on the (likely falsely) claimed Jewish temple mount.

MbS' attempt to push Qatar around has, as predicted, failed. The four countries that had joined against Qatar could not agree to increase the pressure. The demands made to Qatar have now been retracted. This is a huge loss of face for MbS and his Emirati mentor Mohammad bin Zayed. The Saudi war against Yemen kills many civilians and costs lots of money but is militarily lost. The announced big economic reforms have made no progress. The Gulf Cooperation Council is defunct and may fall further apart.

Everything MbS has touched failed. His actions violate traditions and religious commandments. His coup has set an example that can now be used against himself. It would not be astonishing to see a re