King Fahd Hospitalized

King Fahd, whose actions to strengthen the oil kingdom's ties with the United States brought down the wrath of Islamic militants, was taken to a Riyadh hospital Friday apparently suffering from pneumonia.

An Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the Saudi government had put the kingdom, the world's largest oil exporter, on a state of alert and canceled all military leaves as a precaution. Other officials confirmed the alert among security forces and said leaves were being discouraged and upcoming government meetings with foreign dignitaries would be canceled.

But the Interior Ministry denied that any emergency had been declared.

"This is absolutely not true," ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki said. "There's no canceling of leaves and no state of emergency or anything."

The government's official news agency said only that Fahd, who is believed to be 82, had been admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh for unspecified medical tests.

Fahd has been ruling in name only since he suffered a stroke in 1995. The stroke left Fahd with short-term memory loss and an inability to concentrate for long stretches.

CBS News Correspondent Dan Raviv reports a U.S. official said Fahd has essentially been "out of commission" since his stroke and that His half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah is the one who really runs the country.

Fahd has been in ill health for a long time and rumors of his death have surfaced from time to time. News of Fahd's deteriorating health had been blamed for sending the Saudi stock market tumbling 5 percent earlier in the week.

Visitors who saw Fahd after his stroke reported the king was barely aware of what was going on around him and could not recognize those who shook hands with him. Foreign dignitaries have been given brief meetings with the king, who is usually accompanied by close family members.

In the event of Fahd's death, Abdullah is expected to take over as ruler.

Saudi Arabia's strategic importance as the holder of the world's largest oil reserves and the fact that it is home to Islam's two holiest shrines means even a stable succession could impact world markets and have widespread political fallout.

Asked about the king after a speech in San Francisco, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she did not know the extent of his health problems.

"He has in fact had some health problems for quite a long time. We have an excellent relationship with Crown Prince Abdullah," she said.

With the portly, goateed Fahd only a figurehead in the last decade, it has been Abdullah who has overseen the kingdom's crackdown on Islamic militants after followers of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden launched a wave of attacks, and Abdullah who has tried to rebuild relations with the United States after tensions in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.