Saudi Envoy To U.S. Steps Down, Citing "Personal Reasons"

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi Arabian envoy to the United States, is stepping down for supposedly "personal reasons". According to the Los Angeles Times, major changes are afoot in the Saudi kingdom, and King Fahd's health is said to have taken another turn for the worse.

Bandar has been close to the Bush family for years, especially President George H.W. Bush, with whom he worked organizing the Iraq war of 1990-1991. But Bandar's job became more stressful after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when Saudi officials came under pressure to explain why 15 of the 18 suicide bombers were from the kingdom.