August 1, 2005
FRIEND OF W:
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies (BBC, 8/01/05)
King Fahd, Saudi Arabia's ruler since 1982, has died.Saudi state television announced that Crown Prince Abdullah, his brother, had been named as King Fahd's successor.
King Fahd had been frail since suffering a debilitating stroke in 1995 and had delegated the running of the kingdom to Crown Prince Abdullah.
Members of the royal family have pledged allegiance to Abdullah. An official ceremony confirming him as king is due to be held on Wednesday. [...]
Defence Minister Prince Sultan is next in line to the throne after Abdullah, his half-brother, and was named crown prince.
Posted by Orrin Judd at August 1, 2005 12:00 AM
And flags are at half-staff for the next 30 days at every casino and whorehouse from Marbella to San Remo.
Posted by: bart at August 1, 2005 2:30 PMhehe, even croupier's cry
Posted by: cjm at August 1, 2005 4:52 PMPardon my ignorance - it's been a few hours now - but is the King still dead?
Posted by: obc at August 1, 2005 9:07 PMhe is still dead but reported to be feeling better.
Posted by: cjm at August 1, 2005 9:15 PMThis should be very interesting. I have argued that the GWoT is actually a war for the Saudi throne. Whether the enimies of the current regime got to far out and were smacked back into their holes is a question ot be resolved in the coming days.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at August 1, 2005 11:57 PM