The Fall Of The House Of Saud

This Atlantic Monthly article by Robert Baer was airplane reading for me last month, but wasn't available on their website. It's online now at FrontpageMagazine.com, and I strongly suggest you take the time to read it in full. Here's the lead ...

Americans have long considered Saudi Arabia the one constant in the Arab Middle East--a source of cheap oil, political stability, and lucrative business relationships. But the country is run by an increasingly dysfunctional royal family that has been funding militant Islamic movements abroad in an attempt to protect itself from them at home. A former CIA operative argues, in an article drawn from his new book, Sleeping With the Devil, that today's Saudi Arabia can't last much longer--and the social and economic fallout of its demise could be calamitous.