THE LONG-AWAITED DEATH of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia brought most of his subjects more hope than grief–hope that the new king, Abdullah, might move toward freedom of speech and other democratic reforms. It is hard to imagine that this sentiment is shared by the large and profligate ruling family. One powerful wing of the ruling family, the six remaining Sudairi brothers, had dreaded Abdullah’s ascent to the throne and had delayed it for more than a decade.

Abdullah knows the Sudairi Six regard him as weak and naive, too lenient toward the captive population, and thus a danger to the absolute rule of the Saudi dynasty. He is unlikely to forget that his half-brother King Saud (1953-64) was ousted from power and exiled to Greece for much the same reason.