Towards the collapse of Saudi Arabia, by Thierry Meyssan

Saudi Arabia may be in a slump right now but they will recover. They will recover for the opposing reasons given by the author of this piece. Starting with the players will not give up their positions. SA is not a stranger to oil crisis (created in part because of Iran dumping 400,000 barrels of oil onto the market). They are already working to stem oil production via collaborative effort with oil producing countries through OPEC. In the last two weeks we have seen an increase in the price of oil of $30 per barrel as a result of their efforts. Since 90% of their GDP is from oil yes this recent slump hurt them. They are also the governors of the most holy of sights for the Islamic faith. A part of the faith requires that muslims (believers) make a trip to Mecca to partake in the rituals (Bakkah) that surround the Ka'ba, Mina, and Medina. So there you have a automatic money maker by itself. This brings into the country apx. $10 billion per year. It's not just that it is a money maker but control of the holy sites is extremely important to them. Control of the area allows them to have a influence over muslims it perpetuates the idea that it controls how many muslims feel about Saudi Arabia. Control through the idea that since God has given the Saudis control of the holy sites, wealth beyond measure and power this must mean God approves of their Islam. Plus Saudi citizens are relatively happy with the way things are ran and could care less about decisions the government makes. The reason for this is that Saudi Arabia has very limited taxation because the oil supports the regime they do not tax their citizens. Let's not forget Saudi Arabia is the counter balance to Iran in the region and protects the Sunni population.