SAUDI KING HOSPITALIZED (moved from ATSNN), page 1

On Friday one of President George W. Bush's main allies in the middle east, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, was admitted to the hospital Friday because of a bout of Pneumonia. This sign of his health deteriorating and general "becoming old" has not only destabilized the country (who is the worlds largest exporter of oil), but also sent the Saudi stock market tumbling.

apnews.myway.com
Fahd's half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler since Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995. Abdullah is expected to become king should Fahd die.

Fahd's hospitalization triggered reports that an emergency had been declared in the kingdom. Officials said on condition of anonymity that an alert had been declared and that military leaves had been canceled or at least discouraged. However, this was firmly denied by the Interior Ministry.

"This is absolutely not true," ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said. "There's no canceling of leaves and no state of emergency or anything."

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The way things are going these days in the Middle East, the last thing the US needs is an ally to die. Friends are few and far between in this area that we claim needs to be reformed.

The Saudi Principalities however, are a good example of a country that needs reform. The people in these areas view monarchy's with higher disregard than a "President" dictator. At least with the title President, there is an aura that you choose them to be your leader. Saudi Arabia needs stability however, being as it is the keystone for OPEC. If they were to have a revolution within their borders, imagine what economic damage a rogue political group could implement on the rest of the world by shutting down their exports to a few countries (US for example).

This is a very important event that may change the fate of not only the Middle East but the rest of the world too.