You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Arabia
Atimes (turn off Java Script) on Prince Bandar rumors
2012-08-01
This is a follow up to yesterday's posting - This much text is posted as Asia Times has some nasty javascripts that make your computer unresponsive and might well be dangerous
Where is Prince Bandar?
By Pepe Escobar

Was Prince Bandar "Bush", 63, son of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz (perennial Saudi Defense Minister,1963-2001), semi-perennial ambassador to Washington (1983-2005), and secretive jihad financier, killed by a Syrian intelligence death squad?

Thunderous silence prevails on Syrian, Iranian and Arab media (most of it controlled by the Saudis). The same applies for al-Jazeera. This is DEBKA's somewhat fanciful take.

Dates are crucial. Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud may have pulled off operation "Damascus Volcano" on July 18. He was definitely promoted to head of Saudi intelligence on July 19. And he might have been killed in a bomb attack on the Saudi General Intelligence HQ in Riyadh on July 22.

One Syrian rumor mill version rules that "Damascus Volcano" came from Saudi intel - with logistics provided by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This is highly unlikely; the CIA is clueless on how to penetrate Assad's inner sanctum. The predominant version circulating in the Syrian capital is this was a white coup.

"Damascus Volcano", by the way, was a flop; the swarm of mercenaries - infiltrated via Jordan - who were supposed to take over the capital had to retreat up north. Now the news cycle is fixated on another faux game-changer - the "Battle of Aleppo".

There are serious problems with all the spin around "Damascus Volcano". None of the Assad regime's four heads of military intelligence were killed - they are actually running the (ghastly) show in Aleppo.

There are also problems with a Syrian death squad being able to strike Riyadh's inner sanctum. But Iranian intelligence could certainly pull this off. As for Debka's assumption that Tehran may have hired al-Qaeda jihadis for an inside job against the House of Saud, that is rubbish.

The bottom line; no one knows, because no one is talking.

What is certain is that Bandar as head of Saudi intelligence was part of King Abdullah's hardcore response to the Arab Spring.

In Syria, the House of Saud strategy boils down to regime change - and a fragile, fragmented, Sunni government in Damascus not aligned with Tehran.

Internally, the strategy is to viciously smash any peaceful Shi'ite-majority protest in the eastern provinces. Essentially, there's no Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia because the House of Saud either bribes or intimidates its subjects.

The overall strategy of choice is "blame it on Iran"; as this logic goes, Saudi Shi'ites are Iranian puppets as much as Bahraini Shi'ites. The Obama administration blindly subscribes to this fallacy - totally missing the point; the House of Saud hates any semblance of Western parliamentary democracy as much as it hates Shi'ites - Iranian and otherwise.

So what happened in Riyadh? A graphic Tehran message to the House of Saud? A rogue suicide bomber? An internal Saudi war? The House of Saud is not talking. And Bandar is not moving.
Posted by:Water Modem

#7  Assad hasn't appeared on TV or in public for 2 weeks. I wouldn't bet on him being still alive or at liberty.
Posted by: phil_b   2012-08-01 20:09  

#6  A 'white coup' involves insiders; in this case within the royal family or the innermost workings of the Saudi government.

Rather dramatic, though. The usual way is for a member of the royal family to die in a car crash or on a camping trip.
Posted by: Pappy   2012-08-01 18:31  

#5  White coup? I dunno, but it sounds racist.
Posted by: SteveS   2012-08-01 15:29  

#4   The predominant version circulating in the Syrian capital is this was a white coup.

What is a white coup?
Posted by: trailing wife   2012-08-01 14:36  

#3  The bottom line; no one knows, because no one is talking.

That would rule out any involvement by the Obama administration.
Posted by: SteveS   2012-08-01 14:06  

#2  Perhaps the prince was involved in the plan and/or attack. How would anyone truly know where a spy's alligence is with at any given time.
Posted by: airandee   2012-08-01 13:47  

#1  The wolrd is trying to figure out what happened to Bandar. Maybe dead ... or maybe in seclusion. But clearly what is at stake for the Saudi's - is there high level of vulnerability. The July 22 bombing demonstrates that their very best security can be penetrated and impoortant leaders taken down. The message is clear ... ANYBODY in the House of Saud can be targeted. That is obviously what is bothering them right now - they don't want their own nation to know how vulnerable its leaders are.

In addition, I fail to understand why Al Qaeda involvement should be dismissed so quickly. It does not require a "team" of AQ militants. It is very possible that a special operative from AQ was recruited to mastermoind this attack. Clearly, someone from AQ who is a Saudi citizen, knows Riyadh really well, and perhaps is familiar with high level personnel within the Gov't there - that person would make an ideal choice. Obviously this is just speculation, and only one possibility, but it has to be investigated. That's also why the Saudi's are quiet - they are looking for a mole, or an AQ figure who knows their Government really well.
Posted by: Raider   2012-08-01 09:36  

00:00