He is terrifying to Middle Eastern elites. He is terrifying to Middle Eastern governments,

I think clearly it's going to satisfy people who have suspicion about some of it, but some will still have conspiracy theories and that's not going to stop.

If the letter's true, it's new because they haven't shown any particular avoidance of certain ruthless tactics. It says to me they are concerned about the way they are being perceived in the Muslim world,

You can argue that in recent years, Fahd's own personal paralysis has led to Saudi political paralysis. Abdullah is seen as in charge, but not really in charge. Fahd's physical survival has prevented anyone else from being king, and in some ways has preserved a degree of stability.

Where they started having difficulty, and helping to direct and bring anger toward the United States, was taking the position that this was exploitation by politicians. While it's true at some level, it comes across as if it's missing the force of it for the vast majority of Muslims.

The most important part of the commission is that you have a process that is credible, ... The Palestinians, in particular, feel that the U.S. has jumped to the conclusion of blaming them first and they have wanted to investigate that.