AFP – 23 Jan 2015 – Saudi King Abdullah was in his early 80s when he ascended the throne in 2005 but he sprang into action in a campaign to free the kingdom from dependence on oil and the influence of hardline Islamists.
In 2002 he parented the path-breaking Arab Peace Initiative, which offered Israel blanket recognition from 22 Arab states in return for an independent state for the Palestinians.
US State Department documents disclosed by WikiLeaks quoted him as privately calling for a US military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities to “cut off the head of the snake”.