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CNN Live Today

Inside Saudi Royal Family

Aired October 03, 2002 - 10:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Today we continue our look inside Saudi Arabia, and more specifically, inside the Saudi royal family. Who's in control? who's in the outs? And who's on the rise? It's a complicated question of power in a family that boasts a staggering 30,000 members.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Saudi Arabia is a family enterprise, literally. The country was established by the Al- Saud family in the early 20th century, and they've been running it ever since.

DAVID LONG, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA: All Saudi culture is based on extended families. If you're not in an extended family, you're probably not a Saudi.

SCHNEIDER: In a culture where men can take more than one wife, extended families can get pretty extended. The Saudi royal family has some 30,000 members, including about 4,000 princes, like a gigantic Kennedy clan with all the rivalries and competition that implies.

How does the Saudi royal family stay in power? Religion. The royal family has assumed a role of guardian of Islam's holy places and money. The family uses its oil wealth to buy off its opponents.

One way the Saudi royal family does not stay in power is democracy. Who picks the king?

LONG: They now had to go from brother to brother since the early 1950s, I think they got that down pretty well.

SCHNEIDER: Power has passed from Abdul Aziz, the founder of the Saudi regime, to his many sons. King Saud, who ruled until 1964, he was deposed by the royal family when it lost confidence in him. King Faisal, who was disgruntled by a relative in 1955. King Khalid, who died in 1982. King Fahd, now ailing and unable to exercise power.

Who's next? King Fahd's designated successor is his half brother, who is now the country's acting ruler. Abdullah is a reformer, he's moved closer to the United States since the events of September 11th. His rival could be his younger brother, Prince Sultan. He is more hostile to reform, more anti-American and more popular, because over the past year anti-American sentiment has grown in Saudi Arabia, especially among the kingdom's exploding numbers of young people, who resent their country's alliance with Israel's chief backer.

At the same time, in the post-9/11 environment, anti-Saudi sentiment has increased in the United States. The Bush administration and the Saudi royal family likes to pretend it isn't true, but the fact is, a wound has opened up between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. It could get worse if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq, and asks for Saudi help against another Arab country.

(on camera): Any new Saudi ruler who wants to be more responsive to popular sentiment in his country may feel pressure to distance himself from the United States.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 3, 2002 - 10:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Today we continue our look inside Saudi Arabia, and more specifically, inside the Saudi royal family. Who's in control? who's in the outs? And who's on the rise? It's a complicated question of power in a family that boasts a staggering 30,000 members.
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Saudi Arabia is a family enterprise, literally. The country was established by the Al- Saud family in the early 20th century, and they've been running it ever since.

DAVID LONG, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA: All Saudi culture is based on extended families. If you're not in an extended family, you're probably not a Saudi.

SCHNEIDER: In a culture where men can take more than one wife, extended families can get pretty extended. The Saudi royal family has some 30,000 members, including about 4,000 princes, like a gigantic Kennedy clan with all the rivalries and competition that implies.

How does the Saudi royal family stay in power? Religion. The royal family has assumed a role of guardian of Islam's holy places and money. The family uses its oil wealth to buy off its opponents.

One way the Saudi royal family does not stay in power is democracy. Who picks the king?

LONG: They now had to go from brother to brother since the early 1950s, I think they got that down pretty well.

SCHNEIDER: Power has passed from Abdul Aziz, the founder of the Saudi regime, to his many sons. King Saud, who ruled until 1964, he was deposed by the royal family when it lost confidence in him. King Faisal, who was disgruntled by a relative in 1955. King Khalid, who died in 1982. King Fahd, now ailing and unable to exercise power.

Who's next? King Fahd's designated successor is his half brother, who is now the country's acting ruler. Abdullah is a reformer, he's moved closer to the United States since the events of September 11th. His rival could be his younger brother, Prince Sultan. He is more hostile to reform, more anti-American and more popular, because over the past year anti-American sentiment has grown in Saudi Arabia, especially among the kingdom's exploding numbers of young people, who resent their country's alliance with Israel's chief backer.

At the same time, in the post-9/11 environment, anti-Saudi sentiment has increased in the United States. The Bush administration and the Saudi royal family likes to pretend it isn't true, but the fact is, a wound has opened up between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. It could get worse if the U.S. goes to war with Iraq, and asks for Saudi help against another Arab country.

(on camera): Any new Saudi ruler who wants to be more responsive to popular sentiment in his country may feel pressure to distance himself from the United States.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com