Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Fahr al-Azon Al Saud sat at the head of the table. As King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, he presided over the Council of Arab Oil Ministers. He knew this would be a difficult meeting. Since the Fourth Arab-Israeli War had begun, tensions were high among the Arab nations. Syria, with support from the Soviet Union, had initiated the conflict during Yom Kippur in 1973, ostensibly over a territorial dispute. The sneak attack on the Jews" holy day was an insult of the highest magnitude to Israel. The flames were further fueled by the Arabs" refusal to recognize Israel as a nation. The Arab extremists saw the fight as a Jihad, a Holy War bringing religious purity to the Middle East. They referred to the conflict as the Ramadan War, named after the Muslim holy month.
