King Fahd Dies

If you remember I posted, Could This be True, which referred to a report from "World Peace Hearld" that reported King Fahd dead on May 27, 2005. Although interesting when exactly he may have passed away the big questions are still -- "If yes, what could it mean to the region short term and long term? -- and long term? Crown Prince Abdullah has been named his successor so what could that mean? There are reports that President Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah have a "good", if we know what that means, relationship... Some excerpts from Reuters.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Fahd died on Monday and Crown Prince Abdullah was swiftly pronounced monarch of the world's largest oil exporter and a key U.S. ally.

A Saudi source said the kingdom's oil policy would not change. Diplomats said they expected no major shifts in foreign policy under King Abdullah, who is at least 80 and has run day-to-day affairs since a stroke debilitated Fahd in 1995.

"With deep sorrow and pain, the royal court... mourns the death of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd due to illness," said Information Minister Iyad bin Amin Madani, reading an official statement on state television.

Fahd, who was believed to be 83 and had been in poor health, had entered hospital on May 27 with acute pneumonia. A medical source said he died at around 6 a.m. local time (0300 GMT). (Read entire article here.)