Transcript of: Political turmoil threatens Saudi Arabia
MORALES:
All right,
Michelle Kosinski
in
Tel Aviv
. Thank you,
Michelle
. Another US ally in the region,
Saudi Arabia
, also keeping a close watch on the situation.
NBC
's
Nancy Snyderman
is in the capital of
Saudi Arabia
, in
Riyadh
.
Nancy
, are people there worried about a
ripple effect
from
Egypt
?
Dr. NANCY SNYDERMAN reporting:
One of the things,
Natalie
, that people have talked about on the street, and we've talked to college professors, to shopkeepers, is that they're not worried about a
ripple effect
of political turmoil because they feel that this government is very stable, that there is a vibrant
middle class
, but this nation is very cognizant of its neighbors. If you take a look at
Saudi Arabia
, it recognizes that there is political turmoil to the north. Now
Egypt
is in turmoil to its west and, of course,
Yemen
had its own demonstrations just this past week. But in the middle of it, this large, oil-rich monarchy with a constitution and people who say, yes, they have a wary eye on their surroundings, but, no, they do not believe a
ripple effect
is imminent. And let me point out to you,
Natalie
, that this country does have a history of taking in deposed leaders.
Idi Amin
from
Uganda
and
Nawaz Sharif
from
Pakistan
, so I think one of the questions looming is, could
Mubarak
show up in Saudi? That's the question that at least today is the rumor on the streets. But stability? No, things are just fine.
“ ”