The King Is Dead

I have to regard the death of Saudi Arabia’s long-ailing King Fahd as a good thing. Of course, in an ideal world, we’d be dealing with a more democratic Saudi Arabia, but it’s hard to see that as a realistic prospect until a lot of the more tractable situations in the region have been moved in that direction. In the meantime, the diffuse and feudal power structure of Saudi Arabia all too often seems to hand us all the difficulties of dealing with an autocracy as an ally but none of the benefits. While that structure is likely to remain unchanged in its fundamental nature, and while I still would not be trusting or optimistic in dealing with now-King Abdullah, you have to figure that Abdullah’s ascension to the formal role of King will help him solidify his power and give the West a slightly clearer picture of who is in charge over there.