I believe this was written in English, thought in Arabic...
Yemen Times Staff
The 27 April parliamentary elections results announced last week showed participation of all Yemeni 22 political parties and organizations with their different national, Islamic and socialist orientations while other Islamic sects didnât specify their stands vis-a-vis elections process.
Sources mentioned that al-Salafia movement stand, which is considered one of the strongest Islamic groups found in Yemen, was clear and didnât take part in the elections describing them as an act of infidelity and imitation of the west.
Didn't think they were gonna win, huh?
However, some sources indicated that some of al-Salafia elements had supported the al-Dawa candidates (extremists) from the Muslim Brotherhood movements.
The Muslim Brotherhood is the (semi-legit) front for Salafism. It's where they keep the Learned Elders of Islam, who're too important to The Movement⢠to actually get shot. Syria, I believe, shot them a few years ago, and they're outlawed in Egypt and a few other places...
The Shiite al-Ethnashria (al-Gafrites) that has existence in some areas, called on its followers to back General Peopleâs Congress candidates attempting to gain the ruling party support for its activities to face what is called al-Wahabi movement in Islah party with whom they have intellectual-pragmatic enmity.
Makes sense for the Shiites to support the gummint party when the Salafists are the main opposition...
Regarding the Jews in Yemen who are extensively inhabit in Sadah information indicated that they were supporting al-Hak, an Islamic party which adopts al-Zaidi-alhaidwi ideas.
Saleh Obad al-Zaidi was assassinated, on April 27th, by coincidence â or maybe it wasn't a coincidence. I presume that's who they're referring to. He was a prominent figure in the Yemeni National Arab Baâath Party, and was one of the founders of the Oma al-Marek (Mother of Battles) organization. So somehow we end up with Yemen's Jews supporting an Islamic party that adopts Baathist positions. I think I'll go take an aspirin now...
Al-Bohra and al-Ismaelite stand obviously was for GPC candidate in Sanaâa, Haraz and Jibla.
Never heard of them. Don't know if they're parties, secret societies, social clubs or what...
The second section [wing] in the al-Salafia movement that is represented in al-Hikma al-Yemenia members, backed Muslim Brotherhood movement candidates.
However, the stands of al-Hijra, al-Takfeer (Disbelieving), and al-Dawa groups which have simple existence in most Yemen areas is not clear till now.
The Islamic jihad movement does not show any stand against the operation and might boycott.
Yemen has its own version of Islamic Jihad. It was originally an offshoot of Egyptian IJ, rather than being affiliated with the Paleostinian version. I believe it's outlawed in Yemen.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/14/2003 09:59 pm ||
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The Yemeni opposition parties criticized ruthlessly President Ali Abdullah Saleh and held him accountable for all violations that took place during the voting and screening processes of the parliamentary election. Mr. Mohammed Qahtan, head of the political department at the Islah Party party said in a press conference last Monday that democracy in Yemen came as a result of a military balance between the GPC and the socialist parties after the unification. But after the breakdown of this balance due to the civil war of 1994, the margin of democracy started to shrink dramatically. He said, âwe believed in the democracy of president Saleh but he proved to be not different from any other Arab leaders as he ordered the nationalization and blundering of our constituencies by force.â
Ummm... Not a smart thing to say to a dictator...
He addressed the president in a courageous manner by saying âyou are the reason of all this trouble we are going through and democracy will not go ahead unless you do it yourself.â He pointed out that the ruling party tried to drag the opposition into violence and bloodshed but the opposition, as he said, could escape this trap and making concessions to avoid violence.
I hope they're going to start soon...
He pledged that the regime will be brought down through more democracy and hard work on their part. However, it seems that Qahtan was subjected to harassment for his strong criticism of the president.
Hey! Careful with that feather! You almost knocked me over with it!
In a press statement distributed Thursday, Qahtan apologized to the president. âAs I believe that the president of the Republic has a big heart as he is the father of all Yemeni people, I would like to apologize to him for my statement which could be understood as offensive to his Excellency. I hope that he would accept my apology,â the statement said.
"Instead of tossing me into the calaboose to rot..."
This apology was yet followed by another formal apology from the Islah party as a whole. The party held an extraordinary meeting last Friday and apologized to Saleh for the offensive of Qahtan. Islah said that the leadership apologizes in the name of all its members to President Saleh on the offensive made by Qahtan. Islah emphasized that they enjoy good and deep-rooted relations with Saleh, who remains a leader of all people of Yemen.
"At least we could pretend we did, until Mr. Dummschitz opened his mouth..."
On his part, Dr. Abdullah Dahan of the Nasserite party said the fight was not between the candidates of the opposition and the ruling party; rather it was a fight with the state with all its power and potentials. The opposition pledged to count all violations and put them into question before court.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/14/2003 09:18 pm ||
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The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Al Qaida has infiltrated Saudi military and security forces.
Comes as a surprise, huh?
U.S. intelligence and diplomatic sources said assessments by both the CIA and the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency have asserted that Al Qaida operatives in Saudi Arabia have contacts throughout the kingdom's armed forces. The sources said Al Qaida has operatives in the elite National Guard, the Navy and the Army. "The only area where there is no evidence of a significant Al Qaida presence is the Saudi Royal Air Force," a U.S. official familiar with intelligence assessments said. "The police, army, navy, National Guard and all the rest have been infiltrated by Al Qaida." The sources said the Al Qaida suicide attacks on three Western compounds on early Tuesday pointed to the vast amount of knowledge the organization possessed on the layout of the residences and the security detail. They said nine attackers obtained National Guard uniforms, drove to the gates of the compounds, killed actual National Guard soldiers and immediately entered the Western residency complex.
I hadn't heard the part about the National Guard uniforms...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/14/2003 07:45 pm ||
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#1
Some months ago I heard a famous Merkin say, "You're either with us or against us." Looks like it's time for the House of Saud to pick.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/14/2003 20:18 Comments ||
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#2
Matt, the Sauds decided which side they were on when the planes slammed into the buildings...
Posted by: Brian ||
05/14/2003 20:34 Comments ||
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#4
Methinks the House of Saud had its choice made for it.. they've just been a bit slow to realize..
If they don't jump soon, they may find they've got no choices at all.
#8
I'm waiting for the current generation to be replaced by their sons. Just think, all those cousins who aren't going to be king, and who will eventually have to be cut off from the gravy train. Sounds like a situation tailor-made for civil war.
Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it would make al Qaeda pay for suicide bombings that killed 34 people, including seven Americans, and would hunt down the masterminds with FBI help. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal promised to find those behind the bombings, the first major attack on U.S. targets since the United States waged war on Iraq to stamp out terrorism and oust Saddam Hussein. "Saudi Arabia is committed to... striking with an iron fist all who are tampering with the country's security," he told a news conference in Riyadh. "Whoever did this will regret it because they have unified this country's determination to extract this cancer (terrorism) and ensure that it doesn't return." A U.S. official said a team of FBI agents was waiting in Germany for Saudi approval to head to the kingdom. A high-level Saudi security official said the army was erecting checkpoints all over the vast desert kingdom. In a U.S. television interview, the U.S. Ambassador in Riyadh Robert Jordan criticized the Saudi authorities for not responding quickly to U.S. requests for more security. He also said the conservative Muslim kingdom where Saudis sympathize with bin Laden had a "long way to go" to ending terror attacks against foreigners. Summary: Perhaps this is a case of Al Qaeda winning a "battle" on the way to losing the war. Let's hope so.
If the Soddies actually switch gears and crack down like the Indonesians did, that might be so. If they do, in this case they'll take out a single structure that makes up a part to al-Qaeda. That's been the pattern in Pakistan, Indonesia, and to an extent in Russia/Chechnya â the Bad Guys have to stick the beturbanned little heads up to pull the op, and when they do the cops are able to track them down and either kill them or jug them. SA has the second problem of being involved in the finance and ideological end of things, though, and that's where the real progress is to be had. I don't think they have the nerve to crack down on the bin Laden family and their fellow travellers and on the holy men. Too much potential for overt opposition and loss of princely face.
Khaled Hamed Al-Suleiman also wrote in 'Okaz: "Blaming the extremist phenomenon of people who blow themselves up to harm others on our curriculum is not objective or fair, because this phenomenon is new, and it is inconceivable that it is the product of the curriculum that has served our society for half a century...!! Ideological extremism is merchandise that was never manufactured or sown in this land; it is merchandise imported to this land, duty-free, and the one who exported it got nothing for it, except the pure souls harvested by indiscriminate acts of terror..."
Yeah. It had to come from somewhere else. Couldn't have originated in Soddy Arabia...
"Today, Saudi Arabia is paying the price for decades of tolerance and flexibility in its [religious] message, after it has worked since its inception to support Muslims everywhere in the world... No country in the world has been spared terror... and therefore we must not go overboard in analyzing these practical ramifications and present them as the elimination of the foundation of stability of our society. On the contrary; these are threats we can deal with as long as we believe that we bear responsibility towards our religion, our homeland, and ourselves. The fact that the extremists of terror reached the point of turning into human bombs attests to the tyranny of despair and frustration in their souls... There is no doubt that these are terrorists in the stages of dying, like their ideology..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/14/2003 02:32 pm ||
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#1
He can say whatever he wants, but the truth is most of the terrorists lately have held Saudi passports.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/14/2003 14:36 Comments ||
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#2
"No country in the world has been spared terror"
He's talking out his ass. There are a lot of countries out there and I'm sure there are many that haven't been struck by suicide-bombing religious fanatics!
Canada comes to mind... and Singapore... and Belize... and Tahiti... and Finland... and Romania... I could continue, but I won't.
#3
Spare me, Khaled. "...decades of tolerance and flexibility in its religious message..."
That's why workers in Saudi are given different residence permits (igama) based on Muslim (green), non-Muslim (brown). No open worship is permitted by any other religion other than Islam. In his mindset, the flexibility and tolerance are only within the Muslim community.
Morocco, Tunisian, Egypt, UAE, etc. are much more open. This openess on their parts, other Muslim countries, are what the killers are after.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/14/2003 15:24 Comments ||
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#4
Hit the wrong button. Clarification: If you're a Muslim, you get a green Igama, brown if you're non-Muslim.
Remarks about Morocco, etc. mean that even these relatively tolerant societies, just by the fact that churches, synagogues(Morocco) exist there, make their leaders less Muslim in the eyes of these Wahibite murderers.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/14/2003 15:28 Comments ||
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#5
"no country in the world has been spared terror"
is only a slight exaggeration. Many countries had citizens in the twin towers. Many others have citizens who live and/or work in diplomatic areas in countries that are in the terrorist cross hair. The larger point that the Soddies still can't bring themselves to say is that Islam is the only religion where institutions (mosques and schools) incite murder on a large scale and regular basis.
#8
Ok Aris, how about: Islam is the only religion were believers ACT on their mythologies? And how about, Islam is the ONLY major religion were high ranking "respected" religious leaders call for murder?
Now I want you to work on this assignment: find me the religious leader of a major religion who has called for the murder of others. Note: I said the murder of others, as in death, not saying they don't like some religion or they think the other religion is heretical. I said call for the MURDER of other people.
I'll await your response.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
05/15/2003 1:38 Comments ||
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#9
One correction: I meant "where believers ACT on their suicide/murder mythologies."
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
05/15/2003 1:48 Comments ||
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Words are inadequate to express the shock, the revulsion, the outrage at the suicide bombings in Riyadh. Are expatriates working here an army of occupation, to be slaughtered and terrorized into leaving?
Funny, how the Soddies are so surprised and we're not...
This was an undertaking of sheer evil. Life â be it the life of Muslims, of Saudis, of Westerners, of anyone â is sacred, a gift from God. It was targeted as much against Saudi Arabia as against Westerners â not just because Saudis and Westerners alike have been killed and maimed but because the prime aim of those responsible for this despicable crime is to create panic and terror. Those responsible are the new fascists. Merciless, cold and full of hate, with a demented vision of Islam, they declared war on humanity for the thoroughly un-Islamic goal of separating and insulating the Muslim world from the rest of humanity, as part of which they hope to terrorize Westerners into leaving the Kingdom. They have no qualms about killing anyone who gets in their way; they spread hatred and resentment, not peace; yet they have the blasphemous effrontery to claim that they do Godâs work. They make a mockery of Islam, an open, inclusive faith.
Yep. That's pretty much our assessment, too. Guess we've just had it longer'n you...
We have to face up to the fact that we have a terrorist problem here. Last weekâs Interior Ministry announcement that 19 Al-Qaeda members, 17 of them Saudis, had planned terrorist attacks in the country and were being hunted was a wake-up call â particularly to those who steadfastly refuse to accept that individual Saudis or Muslims could ever do anything evil, who still cling to the fantasy that Sept. 11 and all the other attacks laid at the doors of terrorists who happen to be Arab or Muslim were in fact the work of the Israelis or the CIA. For too long we have ignored the truth. We did not want to admit that Saudis were involved in Sept. 11. We can no longer ignore that we have a nest of vipers here, hoping that by doing so they will go away. They will not. They are our problem and we all their targets now.
If you'da had those realizations a week ago, your 19 Bad Guys might not have gotten away, so they'd be in jug rather than at large to perpetrate this. I also imagine the realizations will fade with time â the Indons suddenly awoke with them last October. They did a good job of rounding up Bad Guys. Now it's all in the past and they're singing the same old song...
It goes without saying that those responsible, those who poisoned the minds of the bombers, those who are planning to become bombers, must be tracked down and crushed â remorselessly and utterly.
I'll believe they're doing that when the first holy man's head rolls, not before...
But crushing them will not be enough. The environment that produced such terrorism has to change. The suicide bombers have been encouraged by the venom of anti-Westernism that has seeped through the Middle Eastâs veins, and the Kingdom is no less affected. Those who gloat over Sept. 11, those who happily support suicide bombings in Israel and Russia, those who consider non-Muslims less human than Muslims and therefore somehow disposable, all bear part of the responsibility for the Riyadh bombs.
And tomrrow you'll be singing the praises of Hamas â and sending them checks. Maybe you should have a telethon for the dead boomers? Send their surviving relatives to good madrassahs...
We cannot say that suicide bombings in Israel and Russia are acceptable but not in Saudi Arabia. The cult of suicide bombings has to stop. So too has the chattering, malicious, vindictive hate propaganda. It has provided a fertile ground for ignorance and hatred to grow.
It won't stop. Read last week's Arab News. Or next week's.
There is much in US policy to condemn; there are many aspects of Western society that offend â and where necessary, Arab governments condemn. But anti-Americanism and anti-Westernism for their own sake are crude, ignorant and destructive. They create hate. They must end. Otherwise there will be more barbarities.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/14/2003 01:56 pm ||
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#1
Fred, it's nice to see some of these Arab News articles. But I have to wonder. LGF, among others, has noted that the Arab language articles in the Arab press often take a completely different view than the English language ones that are supposed to be the translations. I'd be much happier if I knew that these articles read the same in Arabic.
#2
I think there's a mixture. There are Arabs, even in SA, who aren't raving lunatics, and there are apologists akin to our own Gollywood dullards, who're stupid but not drivers of terrorism. It's just that the proportions are different.
I'm wondering if the Soddies are going to rerun the Kobar Towers investigation and pretend nothing happened, it was all a momentary aberration, or if they actually are waking up, like the Indons did, if only briefly. We'll know in a month or so. Somehow I can't see them rounding up holy men and cutting their heads off, though, which is the only real cure for the disease.
On the bright side, I think the Soddies are slowly becoming aware that they're becoming an island of primitivism, surrounded by more liberal societies that haven't exploded or become Lutherans. Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Dubai are starting to contrast a little more glaringly with the Soddies and their even more primitive cousins in Yemen. Jordan doesn't have any oil and still has lots of Palestinians, so it's chock full of poor folks, but as far as openness of society goes it's got it all over SA. And now there's Iraq...
The Soddies aren't going to fold anytime soon, but they still have the choice of waking up and becoming a modern society. I actually see the biggest problem country in that part of the world - in the entire world, in fact - as Pakistan. The proportion of people there who're literally nutz is alarming.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2003 16:43 Comments ||
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by Raid Qusti
Who are we trying to fool? Ourselves or the international community? Neither can be fooled.
Nobody at Rantburg ever bought it...
Itâs about time we got our act together. The time of pretending that radicalism does not exist in Saudi Arabia is long past. The time for pretending that we are above errors and could not possibly commit terrorist attacks is no longer with us. It has got to stop. Change must come now. We as a nation cannot afford to leave it to its own slow pace. Itâs either now or never. It also must cover all aspects of our life â the school, the mosque, the home, the street, the media.
But you won't. You'll talk for awhile, and the Bad Guys will shut up. Then you'll get tired of it and they'll come back. They never get tired of it...
How can we tell the rest of the world that we are tolerant of other religions and faiths when some of us are not even tolerant of other schools of Islamic thought?
The rest of the world can see your country for what it is: a cesspool of xenophobia and intolerance, ruled by a corrupt oligarchy. You're the ones who're missing that...
How can we expect others to believe that a majority of us are a peace-loving people who denounce extremism and terrorism when some preachers continue to call for the destruction of Jews and Christians, blaming them for all the misery in the Islamic world?
You can't. But you still won't stop.
And the media? It seems that if the media are not flatly denying, they are following the see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no evil method. Just a few days ago, when a large terrorist plot was foiled in Riyadh and the terroristsâ hideout was raided, what we read the following day in the local media was the head of the Muslim World League denouncing the act, saying that Islam and terrorism are not linked. The sheikh said that killing innocent people was a crime in Islam.
Nope. Nope. No relationship. It's only coincidence that the all major terror organizations in the world are run by Muslims, and that most of them are run by wahhabis...
We already knew that. But we needed to hear more than that. We needed to hear three questions that are never asked. Like dust, they are swept under the carpet: Why are more and more Saudi young men being fed with radical ideas? Who are the people brainwashing them? How are they being radicalized? And so it happens that so much dust is swept underneath the carpet that it finally bursts out in full view of everybody. At last, the truth that was hidden has come out.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/14/2003 12:45 pm ||
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#1
I'm conflicted. What measure of support do we provide to the current Saudi regime? The context to answer must include what the alternative to the existing regime would be. If we provide the same level of support as in the past, do we not simply carry forward with the status quo and allow the Saudi regime to continue to ride on our military? However, too less and we risk losing S.A. to the radical camp.
#2
I've wondered about that, too, CC. I sense there is a prioritization of battles in the WoT within the Bush administration, perhaps based on urgency: Afghanistan first, then Iraq; then Syria, Iran, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Saudi Arabia and North Korea, with the order in which they will be fought not yet apparent.
Many criticize Bush for "sucking up to" the Saudi royal family, and conspiracy theories involving the Saudis and the Bush family abound; but I have a hard time believing Bush & Co. aren't fully aware that Saudi Arabia is a big part (even the biggest part) of the terrorism problem, or that they aren't fully committed to dealing with the Saudi problem.
But how to explain the apparent "kid glove" approach we've been taking to the Saudis? I think the answer is that the Saudis are being left til the later stages of this war, in part to see what they can accomplish on their own without US military intervention or other harsh treatment. If, after we've disposed of Syria and Iran and NorK, the Saudis finally see the light, then good; if they don't... well we'll deal with that when we must.
Certainly, articles like this one are a good sign, if nothing else.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
05/14/2003 14:23 Comments ||
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#3
I'm not conflicted. The regime has enough money to buy the kind of support it needs. It doesn't need fighter jets and high technology -- it needs the will to crack down on the ground. The "royal family" is not in danger from the radical camp unless it proves to be too soft on the ground. It's just a matter of time before the radicals directly attack the royals. Then we'll see if the royals have what it takes.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/14/2003 14:26 Comments ||
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#4
Personally, I think that Saudi was not dealt with immediately because we DID need there oil. Now, we'll soon be able to buy oil from the Iraqis.
No, I'm not suggesting that we went to war with Iraq to "steal their oil," but I do, personally, believe that its presence was a factor in the timing. With Iraq's oil fully on the market, the Saudis lever will be gone. Much easier to get them to "listen to reason" in that situation.
It's also the kind of thing that you can't pukblicly talk about.
Posted by: Ralph ||
05/14/2003 15:16 Comments ||
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#5
There is another, purely military issue here. The Saudi public is nowhere near as oppressed as the Iraqi people were. In fact, if we tried to pull a military operation without Saudi consent, i.e., invaded the country, we'd be facing a very hostile populace and all that entails. You'd be in a true colonial situation, which we don't want to be in. You don't want your guys constantly facing guerrilla war in a place where the people support guerrillas. Look at Iraq. The people didn't support the regime and, for the most part, didn't support those who tried to wage a guerilla war...that's why things went well...it was a true liberation.
I don't think you'd have that now in SA....
I think this means we're stuck with helping the Saudi royals as much as possible now without overt, massive intervention.
That said, we could indeed wage a Black Ops war in SA, if the Saudis backed it.
Key question: has the Saudi military been completely compromised by Al Queda? If yes, there will be coup. If no, it should be possible to find out who the traitors are.
Also: if the military isn't heavily compromised, the Al Queda must have training camps. Those can be found and destroyed with small units.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
05/15/2003 1:47 Comments ||
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Columnist 'Adel Zaid Al-Tarifi wrote (Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), May 14, 2003.):
"âŠWhat many of the official sheikhs and columnists â who do not awaken until a catastrophe occurs â say about the phenomenon is inappropriate, and does not deal with the real causes and roots of the ideology of Jihad and of accusing [others] of heresy. They suffice by describing what took place as an imported ideology, and ignore the roots imprinted in our culture⊠Our religious message includes many phenomena of religious extremism. A quick glance at the Friday sermons in the mosques or at the Fatwas can attest to thisâŠ"
"The Jihad groups find ideological cover in the religious message spread by the mosques and schools⊠But even if we set aside the main reasons why the Jihad stream was formed, there are many other, selfish reasons⊠The Fatwas, for example, that are issued by the leaders of the Jihad stream, and even by the sheikhs of the Islamic awakening [stream] in the past two years, have inflamed the emotions of many and provided a legitimate basis for these acts. Some Fatwas justified September 11; other Fatwas depicted these events as 'blessed [Islamic] raids.' During the Afghan and Iraq wars, the Fatwas sent many wretched young men to the hopeless battlefieldâŠ"
"The important question is this: What must be done? Many of the pulpits of education, such as the school, the home, and the mosque, need reform today. Anyone who wants to attribute what happened to economic or psychological conditions is missing the truth. These conditions can account for the behavior of criminals, but cannot account for a terror event based on religious belief. Religious terror cannot be contained, because it is part of the religious belief of those who carry it out. What can be done with people who think that anyone who does not agree with their fundamentalist path deviates from the path of righteousness? Those who carry out these deeds are not victims, but criminalsâŠ"
"These events are not newborn in our society, as some would like to present them. It is enough to mention the bombings of 1996, and of 1997. Reactions to these events were diverse. What is important regarding this most recent event is that it must not push us towards further religious extremism, as has happened in the past. Further religious extremism will lead us to a 'Saudi Manhattan.'"
"I wrote this article a day before the three bombings [and following the arrest of an Al Qa'ida cell in Saudi Arabia about a week ago], and I am sorry to say that the Saudi Manhattan has indeed happened."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/14/2003 12:42 pm ||
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#1
What an interesting set of articles. Have you guys heard all this before? Could this be the start of a sea change? (I'm not THAT hopeful, I'm just groping for alternatives to killing them all)
Posted by: Scott ||
05/14/2003 15:07 Comments ||
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#2
Yeah, you see it from a little different viewpoint when they're trying to blow YOU up...
#3
Scott: Very interesting, indeed. An anecdote: When I left Saudi in '88 (Jeddah, 6 years), society there was debating satellite dishes. They were still ILLEGAL, however, when I left. Fastforward to '97 and I'm sitting for an interview to work in Riyadh. I ask the guy about the dish situation, and he didn't know what I was talking about. I arrive and they're perfectly legal. TV ads, newspaper ads, shops. Dish, dish, dish!!! What the hell had happened? The Royals and the merchant classes had made a pact with the devil. In exchange for Wahibite cleric permission for dish legalization, the Royals had to open purse strings for the propagation of Wahibite theology on a much more intensive scale than had been done before. "Iqra'a" satellite channel, $ for madrassas world-wide, mosque construction world-wide, etc, recognition of Taliban in Afghanistan. Royals and merchants got to set up networks in London/Rome for direct transmission into Kingdom: ANA, MBC, Orbit,etc. Western influence on one hand and Wahibite repression on the other simultaneously. What a formula!! Wahibites also got their way re domestic education curricula. Look at the result.
Sea change? Maybe, but young smart Royals have to take over and upset the apple cart and have Saudi join 21st century and will have to ruthless and flexible at same time to cope with a force that is ruthless and inflexible. They haven't shown they are capable of doing the job as of yet.
Advantage us: Royals will want to preserve their power and will act in their own interests, which will coincide with ours. They will be less arrogant.
Advantage them: They don't give a damn about human life and will try to take everybody down with them to visit the 72 white raisins.
GBW and smart folks in Muslim world: Patience, audacity, and thinking out of the box are only solutions.
Let's keep our eyes on MEMRI.org for Kingdom's Arabic language press to monitor situation. Anyone who was good at Kremlin-watching will find those skills useful. The 21st century has its first full-fledged crisis on hand. Think in Cold War time terms (50 years is not out of question) as far as when we find out who the winners are.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/14/2003 16:10 Comments ||
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#4
Mike, that explains a lot. Difficult not to see Islam as one black box. But if there are differences, good to know which to root for/against.
tu - Think so? My anecdote: '83 - Lived in apt complex next to several Arabs who went to Spartan School of Aeronautics. They were from Saudi, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. Some in Flight. Some in Avionics/A&P. Wondered even back then if we were training our own enemies. I was studying ministry, and I befriended and talked to them about God. One (Egyptian - Yasser) even said he came to believe Jesus to be God's Son. (which is accross the line for a Muslim) When the others heard about it, they warned he and I not to tell the Saudi (Mahdi) or he would try to kill Yasser and I , even here in America. Took him and several others to the wildest church I could find the next Sunday.
They may hate Ariel Sharon, but they fear Franklin Graham.
Posted by: Scott ||
05/14/2003 16:58 Comments ||
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Terrorists who killed scores of people in three car bombings in Riyadh were part of an al-Qaeda cell whose hideout was raided by Saudi police on May 6. Interesting that they knew the raid was coming, isn't it?
Formed after the September 11 attacks on the United States and led by Khaled Jehani, the terror cell's safe house was located near the three expatriate housing compounds that were hit by car bombs late Monday, Saudi officials told the Washington Post. Saudi officials told the daily that nine charred bodies found at the bomb site are believed to be those of the attackers. DNA samples from the bodies are being compared to relatives of members of the terrorist group whose locations were raided May 6. The 50 to 60-member al-Qaeda cell was formed by Jehani, a Saudi national who went abroad at 18, fought in Bosnia and Chechnya, and returned to his homeland after the US-led attack against an al-Qaeda stronghold in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan in December 2001, Saudi officials said. Chechnya and Afghanistan seem to be a common link between most of these guys.
Most of the terror group's weapons were smuggled through Yemen, they added. Saudi officials believe that after the US-led war on Afghanistan, hundreds of al-Qaeda fighters were told to return to their home countries and plan independent attacks on US, Jewish and other Western interests, officials said. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.
Jehani has been on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation list of al-Qaeda suspects since January 2002, the Post reported on Wednesday. The terror cell had planned numerous attacks in Saudi Arabia in the last year, all thwarted either because of strict security around the intended targets or because captured members of the cell revealed their plans, Saudi officials said. We could hope the Saudis expend a little more effort in picking these guys up. I'm afraid it's a faint hope.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/14/2003 10:53 am ||
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#1
The best way to deal with these shitheads is to take out some of the holy men who teach them. Just blow up their palacial homes. With them in it. Four or five in one day. Then deny it. Not us. Then do four more the next day. "hey not us, besides it is only a few". It wont take long for the scoundrels to be preaching a different form of peace, love and understanding. I know its bad but a zit needs to come to a head.
#3
What the Soddies have to admit is that the Khaled Jehani cell had help from 'insiders'. For one, I don't see how the Soddies got close enough to identify all the nationalities but still didn't capture any of the cell members unless there was someone on the inside. For another, they had help expediting their entrance into the foreign compounds. Of course, the Soddies have a hard time admitting any wrongdoing (I presume there is already a big movement to blame the bombings on Israel or Franklin Graham)>
#4
50 to 60 members is a damn big cell! In typical clandestine groups a cell consists of about 3 to 4 members, with only the cell leader knowing the cell members. Each cell member is expected to lead and recuit members for a new cell. Fellow members of a cell wouldn't even know each other, so they couldn't rat each other out if caught. That's the benefit of a cell structure. If you've got 50 to 60 members it's NOT a cell - more like a full-fledged brigade, or army!
#5
Shout it loud, Lucky. Many seem to think preachers get to have 'king's x' or something. I believe hitting those who send is the moral choice.
Posted by: Scott ||
05/14/2003 11:34 Comments ||
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#6
Yeah, I think we have to take the "Swordfish" approach. Hit em hard, deny it. Hit 'em harder, deny it. Go for the leadership. It's always the best way.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
05/15/2003 1:55 Comments ||
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#7
That's why I can't figure out why they keep"repatraiting"forign fighters.When these wackos are captured and sent home all you've done is created an experinced,battle tested terrorist.
These are illigal combantants are buy definition are murders.If caught bearing arms,after determining thier country of origin,they should be stood aginst the wall and shot.
EFL
A Yemeni judge has been injured in an explosion at the courtroom where earlier this week a man was sentenced to death for killing three Americans. The early morning blast, which went off at a court in the southern town of Jibla, was believed to have been caused by a hand grenade. Police said they arrested a man immediately after the incident. Witnesses said they saw several people being taken away in ambulances, but it was not clear if anybody was killed. Suspected al-Qaeda militant Abed Abdulrazzak al-Kamel, 30, was sentenced to death on Saturday for killing three Americans who worked at a Christian-run hospital. He confessed to killing the three last December to get closer to God and to take revenge on Christians and Americans. He's a very holy man
But he condemned the verdict, saying he should have been tried by an Islamic court and not a civil court. Cuz killing Christians isn't against Islamic law.
The judge who was injured on Wednesday was not the one who sentenced Kamel, the Associated Press news agency reported. But that's OK, because it wasn't personal, it was an act of protest against the rule of law, or something. Hope they let this judge try the boomer. Now that will be a quick trial.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/14/2003 09:59 am ||
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But he condemned the verdict, saying he should have been tried by an Islamic court and not a civil court.
Uh huh. Makes a person feel really good about the impartiality of an Islamic court, doesn't it?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
