| Not that way... Well, not only that way. |
Al-Qaida's cell in Saudi Arabia sees young men as easy prey who can be persuaded to have sex stay in the organization with threats, two repentant militants said in confessions aired Tuesday night on national television.
| Not that the old men are all that resistant to the siren song. |
Saudi television's Channel One aired what it called "Special Facts from Inside the Cell," a documentary featuring the confessions of terror suspects Khaled al-Juwaiser al-Farraj and Abdul Rahman al-Roshoud. Al-Farraj was arrested in January after a raid on his Riyadh house that left six security agents dead. It was not immediately clear when al-Roshoud was arrested, but he is believed to be a relative of Abdullah Mohammed Rashid al-Roshoud, who is listed as 24th among Saudi Arabia's most wanted men. "Young ones were recruited because they do not have sufficient knowledge of the religion or a wise mind that can tell right from wrong," al-Roshoud said on the program.
| All that time in the madrassa and they had insufficient knowledge of religion? |
| "At that age, they can go all night!" |
Al-Farraj said cell leaders terrorized the recruits "by making them feel that they are stuck."
| Yep, no job, no woman, no future, that's stuck. |
"Once you were in, they would say, 'That's it, you have to remain with us or else you will be arrested or killed'" by Saudi security forces, he said. "Many youths joined the group unconvinced, and I know people who said they wanted out but were afraid."
| "I want out, Muggsy! Really! But if I try — curtains!" |
Al-Roshoud said that the cell leaders would paint a "horrible picture" of how the militants would be treated should they be detained. Neither man said how he had been treated since being arrested.
| The picture was too horrible for the teevee... |
Their ages were not given, but they appeared to be in their 30s.
| That's young and stupid Saudi-style. |
The program, viewed via satellite in Dubai, did not give the specific accusations against the two men.
| ... though they might, in a civilized country, have something to do with the half dozen dead coppers in the driveway... |
The show appeared to be a further attempt by the Saudi kingdom to persuade those considering the militant path to instead choose moderation.
| "Yeah, don't go blowin' yerself up til we tell ya too, Mahmoud!" |
The Michael Moore-inspired documentary showed moving footage of mangled cars and buildings destroyed by various terror attacks as well as images of kittens and baby ducks victims covered in blood. The 13-minute program was followed by a panel of analysts admiring discussing al-Qaida tactics and means to fight the network. Al-Farraj and al-Roshoud said the terror cell included a military wing, a media committee, a religious council and a forging team that made fake identification papers. "If you were not fit for military purposes, you would be assigned for administrative affairs, such as blowing yourself up in a pizza parlor renting rest houses and cars," al-Farraj said. |