Assassination of an Important Saudi Prince! by Syria. or Iran. or Both. or It Might Be a Fake Story.
Summary: This news story might be important. Or fake. Either way, it illustrates hidden dynamics in the Middle East and provides a useful lesson — how the Internet can help us sift through the morass of information to find the useful gems of information.
“When I was sixteen, I went to work for a newspaper in Hong Kong. It was a rag, but the editor taught me one important lesson. The key to a great story is not who, or what, or when, but why.”
— Elliot Carver, in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Contents
Setting the stage
The timeline of stories
Tentative conclusions
Updates to the story (also posted in comments)
Tips for reading the news for information
For more information
(1) Setting the stage
(a) Useful backgrounder on Prince Bandar: “The Prince and the Revolution”, Simon Henderson (area expert), Foreign Policy, 24 July 2012 — “Saudi Arabia is bringing back its most talented operator to manage the Arab Spring. But can Bandar stem the rot in Riyadh?”
(b) What might have been a key overlooked note: “Saudi Prince Bandar: a flamboyant, hawkish spy chief”, Reuters, 20 July 2012: