(LA Times) King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, a playboy-turned-statesman who led his desert kingdom into a controversial military alliance with the United States that produced a violent backlash from by Islamic fundamentalists, died today after a long illness, the Saudi Royal Court announced. Saudi television said Fahd was 84.
The king's death was announced on Saudi television, which broke into regular broadcasting. Crown Prince Abdullah, the king's half brother, will succeed him as monarch. Fahd's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday evening in Riyadh.
In Washington, President Bush was notified of the developments late Sunday night soon after the Saudi announcement.
During more than three decades as one of the principal rulers of Saudi Arabia, Fahd never sought a leadership role in the Middle East. But by virtue of his country's immense oil wealth and its strategic crucial geographic position, he became one of Washington's most important Arab allies and a prime conduit for U.S. influence.
Incapacitated by a stroke in 1995, Fahd spent the last decade as a figurehead, presiding mutely over occasional ceremonies but rarely in public view. One of his half brothers, Crown Prince Abdullah, has exercised real power during that time and is expected to succeed him under the Saudi system, based on winning a consensus among the most powerful princes in the royal family.
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