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Overheard: the Turki-Bandar spat

The AP’s Salah Nasrawi writes about divisions within the Saudi royal family over Iraq, and mentions the abrupt resignation of the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal: The resignation of Prince Turki al-Faisal, after just 15 months as ambassador to Washington, for example, came after Saudi officials concluded he was not succeeding ...

By Blake Hounshell

December 15, 2006, 1:57 PM

The AP's Salah Nasrawi writes about divisions within the Saudi royal family over Iraq, and mentions the abrupt resignation of the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal:

The AP’s Salah Nasrawi writes about divisions within the Saudi royal family over Iraq, and mentions the abrupt resignation of the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal:

The resignation of Prince Turki al-Faisal, after just 15 months as ambassador to Washington, for example, came after Saudi officials concluded he was not succeeding at building strong ties with the United States, a Saudi official said Wednesday.

“Many in the royal family concluded that if he stayed longer, things might even get worse,” said the official, who has close working ties with the Saudi Foreign Ministry but spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity.

FP editors often go to dinner parties and other events in Washington and elsewhere, and we sometimes hear things that don’t go reported. For instance, an FP editor heard from a reliable and well-placed source that Turki resigned because Prince Bandar, his predecessor as ambassador and a close personal friend of the Bush family, had been going behind his back and negotiating directly with the White House over what to do in Iraq. Bandar, son of Defense Minister Sultan bin AbdulAziz, is currently the Saudi national security advisor, but he’s also vying for the foreign minister job that Turki hopes to inherit from his ailing brother, Saud. Turki was apparently furious when he left.

Steve Clemons says that the AP story was clearly placed by the Bandar faction, and that there is a policy dispute between Turki and Bandar that goes beyond personality:

Sources also confirm to TWN that Ambassador Turki’s decision to resign not only had to do with his refusal to tolerate the unprofessionalism of Bandar and [Bandar’s aide Rihab] Massoud — but with the signals that Bandar and Massoud have sent to Cheney, David Addington and others on Cheney’s national security staff that Saudi Arabia would “acquiesce to, accept, and not interfere with” American military action against Iran.

This FP cannot confirm at this time—but that doesn’t necessarily mean Clemons is wrong.