CONFIDENTIAL b. The emergence of King Faisal's younger sons. As the Al Fahd are today, after the King himself, thefocal point of power and influence, so the latter'ssons - Saud, Abdurrahman and Turki (and, perhaps,Bandar) and their half brothers Khalid and Sa'd -are likely to be tomorrow. The Al Fahd have workedfor their position in the Al Saud but, to a largeextent, merely inherited their position in the country- and they are rooted in yesterday. Faisal's sons areof the new generation - not only of Al Saud but of thecountry. They are the best educated of the Al Saud,have natural ability and, in presence, authority andleadership, reflect their father's, or even theirgrandfather's, image. They are being groomed to ruleand may yet do so; I can see no signs of any other groupin the Al Saud who are likely to hold the latter and thepeople together on a joint course. c. The position of the Crown Prince, Khalid. (the former'sheallt) There is a slight danger, under Khalid as King, of arepeat performance of the 1962-64 drift towardsabdication. To avoid this, the Al Saud might seekto change the line of the Succession before Faisal'sdeath, thus gaining valuable time to close theirranks in support of such a move. Khalid's death or someother's disability (the former is suspect and his publicimage and family position less than commanding) mightprovide the opportunity for making this change but,as in 1964, the key factor would be the attitude ofPrince Muhammad, Khalid's eldest full brother whois still a powerful force in the Al Saud. - 9 -CONFIDENTIAL
