Tom Lippman on Muhammad bin Nayef

I asked my colleague Tom Lippman, longtime Washington Post reporter and more recently author of several books on Saudi Arabia (and currently both an MEI Adjunct and Adjunct Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations), if he had any observations on the Muhammad bin Nayef attack that I could put on the record. Here's his e-mailed response:

There are two things to note:

This attack came while the Saudis were congratulating themselves over the announced arrests of 44 al-Qaeda suspects earlier in August, and should serve as a reminder that the struggle aginst extremism is not over.

Up to now there have been few if any direct attacks against members of the royal family that we know about. I would surmise the Mohammed was targeted not because he is a prince but because he has led a largely successful campaign against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

More if we learn more.