(Steve Clemons and Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Turki al-Faisal)
This is bad news.
There has been no formal announcement by the Saudi government yet — but sources have reported that HRH Prince Turki al-Faisal has resigned his job as Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the US.
Sources report that the Ambassador’s decision has come after a long bout of battles with anti-reformers in the Saudi government. Turki, according to one source, believes that these are critical times and that the kind of intrigue that others in Saudi political circles want to play is a waste of his time, energy, and beneath him.
Prince Turki, however, has been a significant “truth-teller” to the Bush administration and has been one of the key players in resurrecting the Saudi proposal on Palestine-Israel negotiations. He is the two-decade long former chief of Saudi intelligence and is considered by many in the Saudi establishment to be one of the sharpest and shrewdest among Saudi elites.
King Abdullah has reportedly accepted Turki Al-Faisal’s resignation, according to sources — but some are hoping that the King and Ambassador Turki reconsider this and reverse what some consider to be a silly and distracting escalation by petty back-stabbers jealous of Turki’s role and intellectual abilities.
— Steve Clemons
