[h=1]Meet the Saudi royal family?s rising star, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef[/h] By
Kevin Sullivan January 23
... Mohammed
met with President Obama in the Oval Office on Dec. 12, discussing terrorism and regional issues. At the time, F. Gregory Gause III, a prominent international affairs professor at Texas A&M University, called Mohammed
?America?s favorite Saudi official.? Gause cited the good cooperation between U.S. officials and the Saudi Interior Ministry.
?What he has ? and which American officials have grown to appreciate in particular ? is that he?s quite pragmatic and not particularly ideological,? said a senior Obama administration official in Washington, who commented on the condition of anonymity to be able to speak more freely. ?He certainly gives priority to the terrorist threat, and on all the practical ways of trying to deal with the problem,? the official added. ?On other regional challenges, he is trying to work with us, and with an emphasis on countering the same terrorist threat we perceive. He has been a particularly constructive partner.?
Human rights activists had high hopes for Mohammed when he took over as interior minister, but those hopes were quickly crushed, said Adam Coogle, a Saudi-based Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch. ?What?s very troubling about his record is that he is the principle architect of this massive onslaught against dissidents and human rights activists,? Coogle said. ?He is the chief, number one hard-liner, and he is persecuting moderate, independent voices for reform.?
