Obama Killing Arab Dictators, Almost Literally

Obama had quite a conversation with the Saudi king about the situation in Egypt earlier today. It seems as though the American leader presented quite a heavy handed approach that was difficult for his Saudi octogenarian counterpart to swallow.

After the conversation, king Abdullah has collapsed with a heart attack, making oil prices jump by as much as a buck per barrel:

Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz is alive, a source close to the monarch said on Thursday denying reports of his death.

"The king is presently in Morocco; he is in good health and good spirits. The report on his death is untrue," the source in Morocco said.

Islamtimes.org web portal reported on Thursday that King Abdullah suffered a sudden heart attack after a phone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama, during which they discussed the events in Egypt.

The portal said doctors were unable to save the king and he was pronounced dead, but "his death was not reported due to the sensitive conditions that exist in the region."

King Abdullah is rather upset at the way the Americans have been treating their longtime loyal Egyptian ally and close personal friend of the Egyptian monarch. The house of Saud is deeply concerned of the American abandonment of the Egyptian iron fisted autocrat and are worried Obama will not stand by them, when the time comes.

So far mixed signals regarding the state of the king are being sent. The Saudi embassy is equivocally denying it:

Saudi Arabia on Thursday strongly denied "baseless rumors" that Saudi King Abdullah had passed away earlier in the day, AFP reported.

According to the kingdom's embassy in Rabat, the king of the House of Saud was recovering in Morocco after undergoing back surgery in the United States late last year. A senior embassy official told the AFP, "I can assure that the health of King Abdullah is excellent and gives no cause for any concern."

The embassy source reportedly said that the king has "held several audiences" since he spoke with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday about the unrest in Egypt. 

But then again, the current king was ruling as the heir apparent for many years before his late brother finally croaked after years of inactivity. It will be interesting to see what's going on over there once the mist passes.

-QP