A House Divided - How Saudi Crown Prince Purged Royal Family Rivals

By launching a war on corruption, the prince has combined a popular cause with the elimination of an obstacle to acceding to the throne.

"MbS used the corruption stick which can reach any one of them," said Jamal Khashoggi, a former adviser to Prince Turki al-Faisal, intelligence chief from 1979 to 2001. "For the first time weSaudis see princes being tried for their corruption."

But Khashoggi, who lives in the United States, said Prince Mohammed was being selective in his purge.

"I believe MbS is a nationalist who loves his country and wants it to be the strongest but his problem is that he wants to rule alone," he said.

De Facto Ruler

Prince Mohammed was appointed defence minister in 2015 when King Salman became monarch. In June, the King named him heir to the throne, pushing aside his older cousin Mohammed bin Nayef, a veteran head of the security apparatus. The royal family acquiesced and by September the Crown Prince had rounded up and jailed religious and intellectual opponents.

The latest detentions are intended to help him push through reforms that promise the greatest change since the reign of King Abdulaziz, founder of the current Saudi state in the 1930s.

That state has rested on an enduring accommodation between the royal family and the Wahhabist clerics who control the hardline version of Islam that originated in Saudi Arabia.

The ruling family promised to give Saudis comfortable lives and a share of the country's oil wealth. In return, their subjects have offered political submission and promised to follow the country's strict religious and social codes.

King Abdulaziz, who was also known as Ibn Saud, died in 1953. Since then, Saudi Arabia has been run by the king and below him there has been a group of princes, none of them strong enough to impose his will against the wishes of the others.

Decisions have mostly come through consensus. That arrangement has meant social and political change has been glacial although it has also kept the kingdom stable.

But in moves that position Prince Mohammed as the new Ibn Saud, the Crown Prince is tearing down pillars of rule that had been eroding under the weight of population growth and low oil prices.

Consensus has been replaced by what critics say is one-man rule, opposed by some princes although they would not risk saying so in public.

In the past few decades, every Saudi king had one or two of his brothers, sons or nephews by his side advising and sharing in governance. But Prince Mohammed has not appointed any of his brothers or other close family to top positions, instead relying on a team of advisers -- mainlySaudis though some are US- or British-trained.

King Salman, 82, still has the last word on everything. But he has delegated the running of the kingdom's military, security, economic, foreign and social affairs to Prince Mohammed. There has been speculation for months, denied by court officials, that the king will soon abdicate the throne to MbS.

Even the Crown Prince's age is remarkable. The last three kings have reached the throne aged 61, 80 and 79. Prince Mohammed is effectively in charge at 32.

No Guarantee Of Success

Prince Mohammed says he offers a new social contract: A state that functions better than the rigid bureaucracy of the past, opportunities to have fun and an economy that will create jobs that can last, whatever happens in oil markets.

In September he announced that Saudi women will be given the right to drive. Just three weeks ago, during a conference for investors at the same Ritz Carlton that now houses the targets of his purge, he unveiled a plan for a $500-billion futuristic city where sexes could mingle and robots outnumber humans.

The prince has also drawn up a blueprint to wean Saudi Arabia off its dependence on oil and its subjects off state subsidies and government jobs. The public listing of national oil company SaudiAramco, planned next year, is its centrepiece.

There are no guarantees the prince's ambitions will succeed.

Even some admirers ask whether his reach exceeds his grasp. His top-down approach, brooking no opposition, could scare off investors wanting assurances about rule of law and security. Without huge investor support, he will struggle to meet the aspirations of Saudi youth.

War in Yemen, a dispute with the Gulf emirate of Qatar and growing tension with Iran is a concern to investors too.

It should help that Prince Mohammed, following the example of Ibn Saud, sees the importance of forging a special bond with the United States.

During a visit to Saudi Arabia in May, US President Donald Trump urged Riyadh to lead an alliance against Iran and its attempt to cut a Shi'ite axis through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Soon afterwards, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates blockaded Qatar, accusing its ruling Al Thani dynasty of supporting Iran and Islamist terrorism. Trump gave his backing. After the arrests of the past week, Trump tweeted support, saying those arrested had been "milking their country for years".

One insider close to the royal family said the National Guard was unlikely to react strongly to Miteb's removal. He said there had been no resistance to the ousting of Mohammed bin Nayef at the interior ministry and the National Guard would be no different.