Something is changing fast in Saudi Arabia. What are the changes? Who is the architect? What is the motivation?
The changes. First, there has been the news about allowing women to drive, a benign, cosmetic change, as real freedoms for woman are still far away. Then, there is the status of the Saudi war against Yemen. Is Saudi Arabia still prosecuting the war in a serious way.? Recently, Mohammed bin Nayef, the Crown Prince, was deposed and apparently confined to house arrest. He has been replaced by Mohammed bin Salman, King Salman’s young son. King Salman is well into his eighties. Now, a number religious figures and wealthy princes have been arrested including one of the richest men in the world, Alwaleed bin Talal.
Who is driving the action? Is it the elderly King Salman or his ambitious son, Mohammed? I speculate it’s the latter.
What’s behind all this? Is this a power grab on the part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman? Does it signal new directions for the kingdom, both in religion and politics? There is no answer yet. But what has already occurred suggests major changes in the kingdom and therefore the entire Middle East.
