FIFTEEN
THEY PICKED US UP IN a black American suburban.
The driver and the man with him—both cordial—was from the Saudi Arabian National Guard, assigned to the minister’s protection, they explained. The minister, Prince Jamal bin Faisal, was only 31 years old, something I found extremely bizarre. Before his current position as minister of the interior—which included immense state areas like civil defense, police, corrections, court services, customs enforcement—he’d already been minister of communications. At age 31. No background in police, law, the military. His only qualification seemed to have been his genealogical proximity to the king—he was a nephew. From what I could learn from a quick internet search, it didn’t seem that Jamal bin Faisal would be in direct line to be Crown Princ
