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| Arabia |
| The evacuation of Saudi Arabia |
| 2004-06-05 |
| The steady exodus of expatriate workers from Saudi Arabia is set to gather pace in the coming weeks following the latest terrorist assault against foreigners in the Kingdom. JID assesses whether Al-Qaeda's long-standing strategy of destabilising the increasingly embattled House of Saud stands any real prospect of success. Although the ousting of the Saudi royals has been predicted for some years the monarchy in the desert Kingdom has managed to survive thanks to support from the USA and its own policy of buying off or otherwise silencing its domestic opponents. However, with the US Department of State now urging its citizens to leave and the British Foreign Office issuing warnings to its own expatriates, the steady outflow of skilled Western workers is almost certain to gather pace - raising serious questions about the impact of an exodus of foreign technicians on the country's oil industry. Of course, that is precisely the reaction that those who planned the attacks in Khobar on Sunday which left 22 dead are hoping. Of equal concern is the escape of three of the assailants amid mounting allegations by survivors that a deal was done between the militants and the Saudi security forces in return for the release of the remaining 41 hostages. For some experienced Middle East analysts, there are significant parallels between the current situation in Saudi Arabia and the final months of the Shah of Iran before his flight into exile, followed by the Islamic revolution which swept the ayatollahs into power (and cost the USA one of its key regional allies). As one foreign policy veteran told JID: "The collapse of authority tends to be the end result of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once there is the perception that the old regime is doomed, it is usually a matter of time before it actually collapses. We saw precisely this sequence of events in Iran in 1979." |
| Posted by:Dutchgeek |
| #12 Zenster, it is statements like this that make me suspicious of you. The oil fields are already in Wahabist hands. Nothing that some depleted uranium can't cure. I know what you mean, Phil_B, but the moles in place can be extracted by force even if we have to use something like C-CLAW to disable them. Perhaps this is all the more reason to start with their shrines first. Get 'em by the short and curlies and their hearts and minds are sure to follow. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-05 10:40:02 PM |
| #11 Hey, Dr Steve... I've had connectivity problems for the last few hrs or I would've responded earlier. Hmmm. It's now so late in the day that I'd rather republish the plans to free The Republic of Eastern Arabia when there would be time for some good feedback. Mebbe tomorrow or Monday, eh? I still have the sand board set up and... Lol! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-05 10:07:36 PM |
| #10 We shall all be deeply sad when the royal Wahhabi walking bedsheets fall from total petrol power.....ya right :) |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-06-05 8:42:14 PM |
| #9 Should Saudi Arabia collapse, it may well be necessary to expropriate their oil fields in order to prevent their falling into Wahhabist hands. Zenster, it is statements like this that make me suspicious of you. The oil fields are already in Wahabist hands. That is the problem. |
| Posted by: Phil_B 2004-06-05 5:45:43 PM |
| #8 SW, I don't know if you aware of this but Jordan's King Abdullah is a direct decendant of the keeper of the holy shrines that the Saudi tribe kicked out of Mecca. |
| Posted by: Phil_B 2004-06-05 5:41:39 PM |
| #7 Exactly why would they let the French in on things? |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2004-06-05 5:37:58 PM |
| #6 My concern would be that after Al Quieda takes over Arabia they would let the French in to run the oil production. Errr, invade France again? This time don't leave. Act like Germans and they will love us again? That is if anyone cares what they think anymore. |
| Posted by: toad 2004-06-05 5:34:08 PM |
| #5 And the claim that the Zionists have let their agents known that something has been planned in five, four, three . . . |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2004-06-05 5:32:59 PM |
| #4 No way. Let a true descendant of the Prophet (PTUI) handle Mecca and Medina. Jordan's King Abdullah or Morocco's King Muhammed would do just fine as care-takers. They'll need an appropriately trained police force, naturally. .com -- please update your operational plans for the Republic of Eastern Arabia, I think we're going to need them. Special emphasis on initial moves by the Rangers and anti-demolition efforts for our Seals. You know the drill :-) |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-06-05 5:06:40 PM |
| #3 Wouldn't Mecca and Medina be "holy" cards? Only after we shoot 'em up a bit, RWV. Good catch! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-05 4:37:44 PM |
| #2 Wouldn't Mecca and Medina be "holy" cards? |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-06-05 3:50:47 PM |
| #1 However, with the US Department of State now urging its citizens to leave and the British Foreign Office issuing warnings to its own expatriates, the steady outflow of skilled Western workers is almost certain to gather pace - raising serious questions about the impact of an exodus of foreign technicians on the country's oil industry. What, all those BILLIONS of petrodollars and the royals could never be bothered to institute technical colleges for the education and training of competent engineers who might operate their refineries? While American support for the House of Saud may have propped them up, it is the Saudi's "policy of buying off or otherwise silencing its domestic opponents" that has truly undermined their power. Too long have the bones of their lavish feasting been thrown to the seditious Wahhabist clergy they turned such a blind eye to. All western governments have seen this as the price of doing business in the gulf region. Because we have helped to institutionalize this arrangement and permitted the world's economy to dangle by such an ever-fraying lifeline we are obliged to confront some truly dire possibilities. First off; Should Saudi Arabia collapse, it may well be necessary to expropriate their oil fields in order to prevent their falling into Wahhabist hands. Secondly, if such an economic invasion proves inevitable, serious thought should be given to acquiring possession of Saudi Arabia's holy cities of Mecca and Medina. If we go to the trouble of securing the oil fields, why not give ourselves a "hole card" and gate all access to the Islamic shrines as a way of coercing the global Islamic population's cooperation in the war on terror? After all, militant Islamists are seeking to violently coerce the policy of national governments (i.e., Spain, Italy, Japan, etc.). Perhaps it is time for payment in kind. To have become so overly reliant upon Saudi oil is a crime of negligence which the last several decades of political leadership needs to answer for. Since it is all a done deal, we must now unblinkingly confront the few alternatives this leaves us. If we go to the trouble of securing Saudi Arabia's oil fields, why not go for the whole shooting match and bag Islam's shrines as well? In for a penny, in for a pound. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-05 1:37:11 PM |