Saudi officials are testing the effectiveness of the adage: You catch more flies (terrorists, in this case) with a drop of honey than a cask of vinegar. Saudi Arabia is more than halfway through a 30-day amnesty — and three suspects (including one Tuesday) have turned themselves in. Two Islamic clerics mediating between the government and jihadi militants say they need more honey — time and concessions — to bring an end to a series of bombings and shootouts that have rocked the desert kingdom.
| The whole point of an amnesty is that it is time-limited -- act now while supplies last! If the amnesty lasts for a whole year, why turn yourself in the first eleven months? This shows that the whole process in Saooodi-land is a rouse. |
The Saudi efforts are being closely watched next door in Iraq, where the new government says it will announce its own amnesty for insurgents this week. Sheik Mohsen al-Awaji, one of the Saudi clerics involved, says the amnesty announced June 23 should be extended for another month. "We're working around the Islamic clock in our efforts to get the wanted suspects to give themselves up and are currently in contact with several people," says Awaji, a former associate professor of geology. "We need more time."
| That means they're waiting for more ammunition to arrive. |
Another sheik involved in the negotiations, Safar al-Hawali, says that the more than 700 terror suspects behind bars should be released (at least those who have not been charged or who've finished their sentences) as a way of gaining trust of militants on the run. Saudi Arabia should also reduce its support for the United States because these young men see the United States as the enemy of Islam, he told the Monitor in a phone interview.
| "Release my pals so that I know you're serious!" |
But on state television Sunday, Crown Prince Abdullah, the country's de facto ruler, warned militants that time was running out. "If the grace period is over there will be no more excuses," he said. |