Saudi Kingdom Purge--Facts Explained

Courtesy of Al-Jazeera

What Happened the Night of November 4, 2017?

• A few hours after the creation of Saudi Arabia's anti-corruption committee >> 
• 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, rounded up a number of opposition within his own royal family-- this list includes but is not limited to: 

• 11 prominent Saudi Arabian princes--some examples include:
• Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal --Billionaire businessman
• MASSIVE shareholder of Apple, Twitter, 21st Century Fox, Citigroup, Uber
• Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah -- Contender for the crown; Former Head of Saudi Arabian National Guard
• Prince Turki bin Abdullah -- Former Governor of Riyadh Province
• Prince Turki bin Nasser Al Saud -- Former Head of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment
• Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Saud -- Former Deputy Defense Minister

• Politicians
• Khaled al-Tuwaijri -- Highest ranking non-prince; former Head of the Royal Court
• Adel Fakeih -- Former Economy and Planning Minister
• Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan -- Royal Saudi Navy Commander

• Business men
• Bakr bin Laden -- Half-brother of Osama bin Laden; Chairman of the Saudi Binladin Group
• Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi -- Billionaire businessman

• Dead
• Prince Mansour bin Muqrin -- Former Deputy Governor of the Asir Region; businessman; son of former Crown Prince
• Muqrin was killed while allegedly attempting to flee the country with his private helicopter when it went down and disappeared from radar on November 5, 2017.

• MBS summoned Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri --
• When Hariri arrived in Riyadh, he promptly resigned his post as Prime Minister in Beirut from Riyadh.

• Riyadh’s private airport was shut down so private planes would not provide an escape.

• Saudi Arabian banks have frozen more than 1,700 domestic accounts as part of the crackdown.

• The Saudi government is targeting cash and assets worth up to $800 billion.

• More than 200 people had been rounded up in the ongoing sweep
• They are being held at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh.

• The purge has been supported by the:
• Council of Senior Scholars
• Citizens in general >> especially the young

Allegations Include:

• Money laundering

• Bribery

• Extorting officials

• Taking advantage of public office for personal gain

Why Did This Happen--2 THEORIES:

TO CONSOLIDATE POWER>> 

• Experts say that the MBS, who is heir to the throne, is jailing potential rivals to cement his own power.

• MBS wants to secure his own position as the architect of Saudi policy for the remainder of his father’s reign.

•  MBS's arrests are seen as a complete consolidation of control to ALL 3 branches of the security forces --
• Making him the most powerful man in Saudi Arabia since his grandfather, the first King, Ibn Saud.

• The goal?
• To be a fundamental transformation of the Saudi political system--previously based on consensus within the royal family and compromise with the religious establishment--into a more centralized system in which power is more heavily concentrated in the hands of the monarch.

CORRUPTION >>

• Like many petro-states, corruption is rampant in Saudi Arabia>>
• Bribes, embezzlement, and lavish kickbacks have long been an integral part of doing business in the world's richest oil-producing nation.

• Many of those appointed to key positions amassed ASTRONOMICAL wealth>>
• In some cases running into $BILLIONS of dollars far beyond their government salaries.
• Much of it stashed away in offshore accounts.

• MBS wants to send a signal that the old way of doing business is no longer acceptable>>
• Saudi Arabia needs to reform and modernize if it is to survive as a successful nation in the 21st Century.

• The Saudi government would love to get its hands on some of these offshore private assets>>
• Estimated to total as much as $800 billion.

• The country can't afford this in the long run>> 
• It has a young, fast-growing population.
• Needs to find meaningful jobs for them and fund projects that will employ them.

Mohammed bin Salman--Good or Bad?

• The most common description of bin Salman in the international press is “reformer”:  
• Typically described as a young man looking to bring Saudi Arabia into a new age.

• Public rhetoric focuses almost obsessively on the need to move Saudi Arabia away from its dependence on the oil industry and moderate the religious establishment’s brand of Islam.

• April 2015 >> Was the driving force behind Saudi Arabia’s decision to intervene in neighboring Yemen’s civil war in April 2015
• The intervention has largely been a disaster -- thousands dead, millions displaced, and no end to the conflict in sight.

• Yemen has suffered greatly due to a Saudi blockade and airstrikes that have destroyed hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure. 

• Roughly 20 million Yemenis need humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs, out of a prewar population of 28 million. 

• Yemen is now the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, eclipsing even Syria.

• April 2016 >> MBS stripped the religious police of their right to arrest individuals
• A clear attack on the power of Saudi Arabia’s powerful Islamist religious establishment.   

• February 2017 >> The Saudi government launched an ambitious $50 billion investment plan in renewable energy to move away from oil. 

• September 2017 >> Lifted its longtime ban on women driving.

• June 2017 >> He convinced his father to dismiss then-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and appoint him as his father’s new successor.

• July 2017 >> Led a coalition of Gulf monarchies in cutting off economic and diplomatic relations with Qatar.
• An attempt to force Doha, which had been trying to chart a course independent of Riyadh’s influence, in line with his vision for the region. 

• His aggressive approach within the Middle East is popular with the Trump White House--
• President Trump has been openly shifting US policy and rhetoric to align more closely with Saudi Arabia and more strongly against Iran. 

• Ties are also warming on the personal level: 
• In late October 2017 --just a few days before the massive unrest--MBS met with senior Trump aide Jared Kushner in one of many meetings between the 2 men.