Saudi Arabia Replaces Key Official in Effort to Arm Syria Rebels
Frustrated Kingdom Sets Out to Assuage U.S. Worries on Extremists in Three-Year Conflict
▻http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303775504579392942097203608?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F
Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who has won praise in Washington for his counterterror work against al Qaeda in Yemen and elsewhere, is now a main figure in carrying out Syria policy, a royal adviser and a security analyst briefed by Saudi officials said Tuesday.
Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, Saudi King Abdullah’s son and head of the Saudi National Guard, has also assumed a bigger share of responsibility for the kingdom’s policy towards Syria, the advisers said.
A Saudi analyst who serves as adviser to top royals said the changes signaled the kingdom would also now emphasize diplomatic means, including outreach to and pressure on Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, the main backers of Mr. Assad’s regime.
“Prince Miteb and Mohammed bin Nayef, they are in charge,” the adviser said. The world will see a “new strategy for Syria—quieter, more open, not too extreme. There will be more politics to it, and probably much less military.”