With the eyes of the world carefully monitoring tensions in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has increasingly found itself at the center of political scrutiny in its internal and external relations. With its military capabilities largely dependent upon the United States and other Western forces, Saudi Arabia cannot concentrate on internal change at the expense of external security. At the same time, growing uncertainties in the world energy market continue to have an impact upon nearly every facet of the Saudi economy. With King Fahd’s health in question, and Crown Prince Abdullah already in his mid-seventies, the world ponders how future changes in the regime will affect the delicate balance in the region.
