With Saudi Arrests Crown Prince Shows He Can Force Change. But It's Not Democracy : Parallels : NPR
Mohammed bin Salman
"It is unprecedented  more for the speed and the scale " says H.A. Hellyer  a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and the Atlantic Council.  Mohammed bin Salman  is sending a message   he  says: "This guy is in charge and nobody is off the table."
 The crown prince  is a Saudi-educated son of  the current King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Salman . In a surprise move   he  was elevated in June to become next in the succession  replacing  his  older cousin.
" His  position is already secure. It's not like  he  was being challenged. Everyone suspects  he  will be announced as the new king. But you can always consolidate more " says Hellyer.
In one of  his  first TV interviews after  his  June promotion   Mohammed bin Salman  pledged to tackle endemic corruption in the kingdom. "No one who got involved in a corruption case will escape  regardless if he was a minister or a prince " he warned.
"Many of them have been known as deeply corrupt " said a Saudi official who supports  the crown prince  and requested anonymity to discuss the arrest list â which includes former CEOs of Saudi Telecom and Saudi Airlines  four sitting cabinet ministers and high-profile business leaders from Jeddah  Saudi Arabia's business capital on the Red Sea coast. Some had close personal relations to  the crown prince .
It has been shocking indeed in a kingdom used to a glacial pace of change. While  Mohammed bin Salman  launched the blitz of arrests   he  also announced elements of an anti-corruption campaign that appears designed to win public approval  especially among Saudi youth.
 His  anti-corruption commission launched a new probe into an old corruption case involving damage after floods devastated the Red Sea city of Jeddah in 2009. Torrential rains washed away thousands of homes and killed more than 120 people.
But Mohammed bin Salman is playing a high-stakes game and there are grave risks  says F. Gregory Gause  head of the international affairs department at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service.
"It is unprecedented  more for the speed and the scale " says H.A. Hellyer  a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and the Atlantic Council.   [TGT] is sending a message    [TGT]   says: "This guy is in charge and nobody is off the table."
 The crown prince  is a Saudi-educated son of  the current King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Salman . In a surprise move   he  was elevated in June to become next in the succession  replacing  his  older cousin.
" His  position is already secure. It's not like  he  was being challenged. Everyone suspects  he  will be announced as the new king. But you can always consolidate more " says Hellyer.
In one of  his  first TV interviews after  his  June promotion    [TGT] pledged to tackle endemic corruption in the kingdom. "No one who got involved in a corruption case will escape  regardless if he was a minister or a prince "  [TGT]  warned.
"Many of them have been known as deeply corrupt " said a Saudi official who supports  the crown prince  and requested anonymity to discuss the arrest list â which includes former CEOs of Saudi Telecom and Saudi Airlines  four sitting cabinet ministers and high-profile business leaders from Jeddah  Saudi Arabia's business capital on the Red Sea coast. Some had close personal relations to  the crown prince .
It has been shocking indeed in a kingdom used to a glacial pace of change. While   [TGT] launched the blitz of arrests    [TGT]   also announced elements of an anti-corruption campaign that appears designed to win public approval  especially among Saudi youth.
  [TGT]   anti-corruption commission launched a new probe into an old corruption case involving damage after floods devastated the Red Sea city of Jeddah in 2009. Torrential rains washed away thousands of homes and killed more than 120 people.
But  [TGT]  is playing a high-stakes game and there are grave risks  says F. Gregory Gause  head of the international affairs department at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service.