A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Saudi Crown Prince to Return to Kingdom

Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister Prince Sultan, who has been staying in his palace in Agadir, Morocco recovering from surgery in the US, will return to the Kingdom within the next two months, according to his son and Deputy Defense Minister for Military Affairs Prince Khalid bin Sultan, as reported in tomorrow morning's Saudi press. (That link is actually to a Kuwaiti paper quoting the Saudi media.) (Here's a Saudi link.)

He's been out of the Kingdom for much of the year, first for the surgery and then for his long recovery in Agadir, and there have been a number of rumors suggesting his condition was grave at one point, but in recent months the Saudis have been publicizing his receiving visitors. (The Saudis are discreet about his ailment but most rumors have been either stomach or intestinal cancer.) Now, according to Prince Khalid (who was the Saudi general commanding Arab forces in Desert Storm, among many other things), he will be returning "in the coming weeks." Khalid is his eldest son. (The other well-known son is Prince Bandar, who long served as Ambassador to the US.)

No comments: