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Gold9472
06-26-2005, 07:49 PM
NBC: Saudi envoy to U.S. offers resignation
Prince Bandar's health problems, including depression, are blamed

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8366298/

By Robert Windrem
Updated: 6:25 p.m. ET June 26, 2005

Senior U.S. and Saudi officials as well as a senior member of the diplomatic community in Riyadh told NBC News that Prince Bandar bin Sultan tendered his resignation as ambassador to the U.S. to Crown Prince Abdullah in recent days. The resignation appears to be the result of continuing health problems for the 56-year-old envoy.

“You can feel comfortable reporting that,” said the western diplomat confirming what several Saudi and U.S. officials had told NBC News about the Prince's resignation. Bandar is the dean of the Washington diplomatic community. He has been a powerful figure in the U.S. since being named envoy in September 1983.

Bandar was a key figure in the Saudi decision to permit U.S. bases in the Kingdom during the Gulf War.

There have been persistent reports of Bandar's battle with depression over the last several years. Bandar is also reported to have had problems with over use of antidepressants.

“He has not been as engaged in Washington as he has been in the past,” the diplomat said.

He and U.S. officials in Washington added that there has been no formal announcement of the resignation because the Crown Prince has not yet accepted it, but attempts to get Bandar to reconsider have failed.

Had sought intelligence post
Bandar had wanted to fill the vacant post of Intelligence Director in Riyadh, and though the post remains open his chances of getting it are slim, said the diplomat. That job would probably go to a more senior royal, he said.

The diplomat added that the resignation does not appear to be related to the deteriorating health of King Fahd, who remains hospitalized in Riyadh. He said the King's health remains a mystery, but that it is apparently worsening.

“When he went into the hospital, they were saying that he was improving,” said the senior diplomat. “They have stopped saying that and last week there was a royal wedding he would have been expected to attend. People thought he might leave the hospital then if able, but he did not.”

Bandar is the son of Prince Sultan, the Saudi defense minister, and has been thought to be the likely successor to Crown Prince Abdullah as both crown prince and prime minister when the king dies and Abdullah takes his place.

Oil impact
But NBC News' Andrea Mitchell reports Saudi officials saying that upon the death of King Fahd, Bandar's father will become Crown Prince. The real succession issue, Mitchell reports, will be who defense minister Sultan will designate as his heir apparent.

The sudden nature of the resignation as well as concerns about the King's health will almost certainly lead to an increase in the price of oil on Monday, said oil analyst John Kilduff of FIMAT, one of the world's largest oil traders.

"This will raise suspicions. Guys like this don't suddenly resign," said Kilduff. "That plus the king's health will lead to concerns about the succession in the Kingdom.

"With the price this high, everything matters. The market is extraordinarily sensitive. If the news had come along with an announcement of who is succeeding him, it would have been less of a problem. But bad news in Saudi following the election in Iran will lead to more increases in the price of oil."

Bandar's role in Washington peaked after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. It was he who pushed the Saudi government to accept US troops in the Kingdom. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, however, Bandar has spent much of his time defending the Kingdom's counterterrorism policies.

Mitchell reports that top U.S officials are aware of Bandar's decision, but there will be no official White House confirmation until the resignation is announced by the Saudis.

NBC News' Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell contributed to this report.