An Old Friendship Starts to Crumble

'He calls himself a "private individual", listing on his business card as sole official post that of chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. As the 65-year-old Prince Turki al-Faisal is a nephew of King Abdullah, however, anyone keen to find out what's happening in the Middle East hang on his every word.

Before the most intellectual of the major Saudi princes became an ambassador in London and Washington, Prince Turki was Saudi intelligence chief for nearly a quarter of a century. The kingdom's support of the Afghan mujahideen against the Russians was mainly his doing. Currently Prince Turki is regarded as the designated successor to his ailing brother, the longstanding Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.'

Read more: The American-Saudi Relationship