Why Turki Al-Faisal Resigned?

Just after 15 months on the job, Saudi Ambassador to the US Turki Al-Faisal resigned unexpectedly from his post and flew back to Riyadh. The Washington Post article is indicating that the reason for this sudden departure could be that he wants to spend more with his family, specifically with his ailing brother, Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud Al-Faisal.   

Seriously, anyone buys that?

Booman speculates:

It could be that Saud al-Faisal is seriously ill and that Turki al-Faisal is going to take over as foreign minister. It could indicate severe tensions in the U.S./Saudi relationship. It is highly suspicious that Turki would choose such a critical time to go home. Bush is planning on rolling out his new Iraq
strategy sometime before Christmas. In my analysis, that means right now is the time to for the Saudis to use all their influence to guide Bush's decisions.

Perhaps they have determined that Bush's strategy is fundamentally incompatible with their interests. Perhaps this is their way of showing thier displeasure.

On the other hand, maybe Turki has worn out his welcome here, or our intelligence agencies have discovered something ugly, like Faisal has been working with terrorists (here, or in Iraq).

Rasheed, on the other hand, thinks that this has to do with the now infamous Washington Post article written by Nawaf Obaid:

I think Prince Turki has taken the fall for the article that his protege Nawaf Obaid printed in the Washington Post last week which claimed Saudi Arabia was ready to step in and provide monetary, military and political support to Iraq's besieged Sunni minority if the US pulled out of Iraq. This plan was denied by Saudi Arabiathe next day and Obaid was then fired from his post as consultant to Turki.

I don't think that Obaid would have ever written that Post piece without the explicit green light from Turki. I think they were just testing the waters to see what the public and Iraqi reaction would be. Iraqi Prime Minsiter Nur Al-Malki immediately denounced the idea, saying that the Kingdom supported a united Iraq, and by implication would not allow the country to be dismembered into Sunni, Shia and Kurd areas.

I think that Bomman's last suggestion is highly unlikely since Al-Faisal family’s stance on terrorism and their support for strong ties with the US is known.  And with regard to Saud Al-Faisal being sick, then Turki could’ve just taken off for few weeks without having to resign, unless he already got the news about the death of his brother and will have to immediately fill his place. The few next days will clarify this issue.

Update December 13: the New York Times may have better insight.

Comments

[Anonymous Anonymoglu]

--comment deleted by author--

[Lawrence of Arabia]

this was very sudden. i think the washington times article is a good bet. it went over like a lead balloon in most quarters.

with the way the bush administration is talking the last couple of days, the new policy in iraq might not like all that new, so it might not end up being such a crucial time for the ksa ambassador to go home after all.

who is being talked about to replace him?

[Northern shewolf]

I think Rasheed has hit the bulls'eye! There may be even more fun twists to this story: the Saudis like to test the air on most issues, in this case I suspect that certain latitude was given to Turki to 'test the waters' who, in turn, used Obaid as a mouthpiece. The resulting amount of press generated by this was probably more than expected on 'high'. So exit Obaid the fall guy, and to really make the point stick with the Americans, let's have Turki come home to hold his brother's hand....
Very Saudi all this!

[John Burgess]

There are too many unknowns to profitably argue what his departure means, I think.

There's even some question about whether or not he's actually resigned. I find it odd that there's nothing about it on the Saudi Embassy's website.

[Twosret]

Sorry for being off topic but can you kindly tell me a bit about the guy in the picture with Turk. Whenever he speaks he is like on drugs or something. He is on the news all the time and the way he speaks makes me wonder.

I don't know his name but if you can explain I will aprreciate it. Just curious

[Lipstick W.]

that's the brother he's supposedly back home to visit twosret, and heh, you're right. i'm always like geez, hook me up with some of what he's on.

as for which of the educated guesses with which i agree, i believe rasheed hits the nail right on the head. i see a little bit of logic in the ny times article as well. booman, eh, not so much. not at all, actually.

in any regard, i say, bring bandar back![NOT] word on the street is the saudis there miss his...spending habits.

[Sunrunner]

"now is the time to for the Saudis to use all their influence to guide Bush's decisions."

And within a day we begin to hear that Bush (the decider-in-cheif!) is going to take his sweet time re deciding what to do about Iraq.

This at CNN is reporting that according to a "Senior US Official (whatever the hell that means) :

“Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has warned Vice President Dick Cheney that Saudi Arabia would back the Sunnis if the United States pulls out of Iraq, according to a senior American official.

The official said the king “read the riot act” to the vice president when the two met last month in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.”

WaPo is writing of an internal Saudi split:

"Saudi Arabia's royal family and government leaders are deeply divided over how to handle the growing crisis in Iraq and other looming Mideast problems like Iran, with some favoring strong aid to fellow Sunnis and others more cautious.

The split played a key role in this week's abrupt resignation of the Saudi ambassador to Washington. It also could hurt U.S. efforts to forge a new overall strategy to calm Iraq."

[Sunrunner]

The plot thickens?

[Abu Sinan]

The rumours I have heard was that the choice was made on several fronts, one of them being that Bandar still likes to act like he is in the main office. He seems to have wanted to butt into everything and really undermining the new Ambassador.

As Saudi royals go, who I think are all usually khara anyways, Turki wasnt that bad. Much better than Prince Bandar bin Khadama.

[Forgetful]

Abu Sinan why resort to a low level as calling someone the son of a servant, while I know you're rebuttal is that he was actually the son of a slave, you still meant in an insulting way. I am not fond of Bandar at all, but you can talk crap about his politics/personality/etc, not look down on him, due to his mother's situation.

[Abu Sinan]

"Forgetful". I meant it in an insulting way. Prince Bandar, is a wicked, deceitful man who steals from his people and his country.

More personally, Prince Bandar has done things, and not done things, to members of my close family. It is ironic when people forget where they came from and dont use their position to help people.

My father in law worked for Prince Bandar and the Saudi government for 40 years. Prince Bandar himself called my mother in law when he passed away.

When the Saudi government then cut her pension in half and, at one point, stopped sending it to her at all, I tried to meet with him to get it restored back to where it should be and a guarantee that this lady, elderly and ill, could count on getting it.

So this man worth hundreds and hundreds of millions refused to help the widow of a man who gave him and his country faithfulful service for 40 years.

So when I say "bin Khadama" he deserves it 100%. As for the stereotypes of Arab male pride, I say they are a lie. This multi-millionaire let a white convert American like myself help support a widow of a former Saudi diplomat.

Bin Khadama? INDEED! But that is okay, unlike the heavy drinking Bandar, I know my reward lays with God, as does Bandars punishment. Alhamdulillah.

[Forgetful]

I know of Bandar and his antics, I just don't like the way you used bin khadama as an insult, when it shouldn't be used as one.

[Entropy]

Twosrest

Turki is suffering some kind of illness -once heard it's luckemia but am not sure- which required some kind of treatment/surgery in the spine, thats what causes the instability that you notice on his head movemnet. He was here in the States the week before thanksgiving and underwent another operation.
SO now you know whats wrong with him.

[al_miller]

Maybe Turki knows something is going down and wants to be out of the way. He resigned as head of the Saudi intelligence agency days before 9/11. Any of you studying in DC? Hmmm....

[Aya]

twosret, the guy in the picture is our foreign minister, Saud Al-Faisal. And I agree with lipstick wahhabi, he doesn't look normal most of the time.

Abu Sinan, thank you for sharing your personal story with us. It is disgusting how the country's resources are exploited by those who think that they own it. Shame on Bandar and his alikes.

[Abu Sinan]

Aya,

"Breaking News" here. It is rumoured that they plan to appoint Adel al-Jubair as Ambassador. At this point the only person reporting it is Robin Wright, who does have some connections.

I didnt think it too possible. My wife, sister in law and I discussed it. But we thought since he wasnt an "al-Saud" it wasnt likely.

More interesting information, and I dont know if this has been made public yet, but the daughter of the Saudi Cultural Mission has recently become engaged to Jubair and they are to wed this summer.

The only reason I know this is because my sister in law is best friends with her, Maysoon al Mezayed, bint Mezayed al Mezayed, the head of the Cultural Mission. I am sure you know of him, all of the scholarships and such go through him.

I have contacted my sister in law to see if she can confirm the appointment of Jubair, but it is possible that Maysoon doesnt even know, given what the article says about the absolute secrecy of the issue.

If so, good timing for Maysoon eh? She is a good looking, nice lady. I have only met her a couple times, once at our wedding and one at my mother in law's house. She is currently working on her PhD, as I understand.

It will be interesting to see if it pans out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/20/AR2006122001832_pf.html

[Forgetful]

Abu Sinan I really hope you don't think I'm picking on you. I know the AL-Mezyads, do you really think they want their personal information shared on the web?

[Abu Sinan]

Forgetful,

You do seem to have an issue with me, as you never comment on anything except for what I say. What I mentioned is hardly a state secret, nor is it a family secret. Everyone seems to have known about this.......except for you it would seem.

I have not said anything bad about the family, I rather like Maysoon, Shedda, and Wendy, on the few occassions I met them. All we are doing here is speculating about the new Ambassador to the USA.

It would seem you are very thin skinned and want to take offense at everything, or is it just with my comments?

If you dont like my comments, dont read them. Why dont you "forget" about me?

Thank you.

[Sunrunner]

OK: A question for those who are clued into the geneology of the Al Sauds.

Is Mohamed bin Turki Al Saud, the husband of Hana Al Jaber, the bin of "this" particular Prince Turki? If not, can we figure out who the abu is?

Inquiring minds are dying to know!

[Aya]

Sunrunner, just by looking at the name, it seems that Al Jaber is not a princess by blood, rather by marriage. Also, I don't think this prince is related to Turki Al Faisal since Al Faisal's branch of the family usually add 'Al Faisal' to their names. Am I getting your question right or confusing you and myself more?

[Sunrunner]

No, you are answering my question. I am never sure about about the Al Faisal - Al Saud thing (I do understand that the Al Faisal's are sons of Faisal, who was himself an Al Saud!). And sometimes Turki is an Al Faisal and sometimes he is refered to as an Al Saud (in just the English press?). But if I am hearing you right, his sons are "Al Faisal?" And I did know an amira (she was a nice one!) in Riyadh who was the grand (or was it great?) daughter of one of ibn Saud's brothers who was an Al Saud. More confusion....!

Anyway, it is all too confusing to worry about. And this Prince Mohamed is not a son of Turki (and I knew that Al Jader was not a princess by birth...at least on her father's side); and the photos of the house in Boston does look a little modest for an Al Saud, but who knows?

Speaking of Al Saud geneology: I noticed on Wikipedia that someone (haha) has compiled a list of the names of ibn Saud's wifes, and there is at least an attempt to list the names [some of] of his daughters.