Saudi ArabiaÂ’s King Abdullah, center, arrives at a hospital late last week after trouble caused by a blood clot in his back, the state news agency said. The 86-year-old is planning to have tests done in the U.S. (Reuters / November 19, 2010)Saudi King's Fragile Health Raises Succession Questions -- L.A. Times
King Abdullah, 86, a strong Western ally, is heading to the U.S. for treatment of a blood clot, and those next in line have their own potentially problematic issues.
Reporting from Cairo — An impending medical trip to the U.S. by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has renewed attention on the kingdom's aging leadership and raised questions of succession in the world's leading oil exporter.
The Saudi government has stated that the 86-year-old monarch needs treatment for a blood clot around a ruptured disc in his back. The news comes after the king canceled a ministers' meeting and relinquished his duties overseeing the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca to Interior Minister Prince Nayif ibn Abdulaziz.
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My Comment: I live in Canada and we have a saying .... when the U.S. sneezes, we get the cold. The same can be said (somewhat) about Saudi Arabia .... when Saudi Arabia sneezes, the world experiences a panic attack.
I doubt that the next ruler will change Saudi policy foreign and/or oil policies .... but there is a movement for change in Saudi Arabia, and who knows what that means in the volatile world of Middle Eastern politics.
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