ABSTRACT
The immediate cause for Sa’id b. Taimur’s removal was the mounting threat to the existence of the Al-Sa’id regime as evidenced by the Dhofar rebellion and the resurgence of opposition in northern Oman. The root cause of this opposition was the slow pace of social development, as demonstrated by the paucity of education and health facilities, the absence of an infrastructure, and inadequate housing, energy, and water. While Sa’id could legitimately claim poverty as an excuse for the lack of government programs, the export of oil in 1967, while not providing immediate wealth to state coffers, did raise expectations. As discussed in Chapter 1, Sa’id began to address the glaring deficiencies in social and economic conditions, but the combination of the sultan’s deeply embedded reluctance to spend money and the slow progress of the early development programs served to increase frustration both among the general population and within the government, and, therefore, opposition.
