Geostrategy Direct (May 13th edition, no link. Thanks to Paul for the hardcopy) writes that Kuwait has uncovered a network linked to al-Qaeda when it stuck its head up to go and fight in northern Iraq in March and April. The network was headed by a Saudi cleric, Sheik Hamoud Al-Aqla Al-Shuebi. Al-Shuebi was reported to have brought hundred of his students â Kuwaiti nationals â to Iraq through Jordan and Syria. The group was composed of seminarians and former soldiers. They attempted to link with Ansar al-Islam, near the Iranian border. Ansar had an estimated 500 killed, but it is not known how many were from the Kuwaiti group. Ansar's total strength before the war was estimated at 700-800. After Ansar was destroyed, the group returned to Kuwait through Syria, where at some of them, including Shuebi, were arrested. Others remain at large.
This sounds more like a pickup group than a genuine terror network, more along the lines of the saps who rushed off to fight the infidels in the Afghan war, funneled in by Tehrik Nifaz Shariah Mohammadi. TNSM's leader, Sufi Mohammad, was sentenced to seven years in jug when he got back to Pakistan, and most of his jihadis who didn't get themselves killed had to be ransomed. We don't hear much about TNSM anymore. On the other hand, there sure are a lot of Soddies who like to lead jihads. Given last week's events, perhaps Prince Nayef would like to have a little talk with this one...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/19/2003 10:13 pm ||
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Fred, I think Prince Nayef is one of the bad guys.
Saudi police were holding on Monday a lone gunman caught outside the United States consulate in the Gulf oil city of Dhahran amid fears of renewed terror attacks, the American embassy said. 'An armed individual was apprehended at the initial barrier gate to the US consulate compound in Dhahran at approximately 0600 on Monday, May 19,' the embassy said in a warden message to Americans in the kingdom. 'He is now in police custody,' it added. 'No one was injured, nor was anyone threatened. Security remained intact.'
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/19/2003 07:46 pm ||
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However, the Kennedy assassination was solved with the arrest of the lone gunman.
Three State Security Department (SSD) officers Major Musaed Al-Ali, 1st Lt Bashar AbdulWahab and Lt Khalifa Al-Azmi told the Criminal Court Sunday they recovered illegal arms and ammunition from Ali Abdullah Hamad Al-Hamidi, 42 years old; Khalifa Hilal Hadi Al-Dihani, 53; Ibrahim Mubarak Fahad Al-Ghanim, 46 and Talal Hamad Mohamed Al-Faresi, 35. The officers said they found in the possession of Al-Hamidi two grenades, a smoke bomb, a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) and eight automatic guns, in addition to an unlicensed pistol and a hunting rifle; and three automatic rifles and ammunition in possession of Al-Dihani.
Ah, yasss... Sounds like elk season is opening in Kuwait...
Al-Hamidi and Al-Dihani are being charged with trading in arms and ammunition, while Al-Ghanim and Al-Faresi carry the charge of possessing banned automatic guns, a pistol and ammunition.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/19/2003 01:26 pm ||
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sounds like an older crowd - not your typical hotheaded kids
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/19/2003 14:37 Comments ||
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Saudi authorities called for an international effort to crack down on terrorism as they announced the arrests of four suspects apparently linked to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network in the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh. Despite the strong words, Saudi Arabia's interior minister Prince Nayef downplayed the role played by U.S. investigators in probing the attacks on three foreign housing complexes he linked to al-Qaida. During a tense press conference Sunday, Nayef called for "a concerted international effort" to crack down on those who plan such attacks. He did not identify those he suspected of being behind them. Nayef described a limited role for U.S. investigators in the kingdom, saying they had come to examine "the sites and we welcomed them based on that, for examining only." More than 60 FBI and other U.S. investigators are assisting Saudi authorities with the probe into the May 12 attacks, which killed 34 people, including nine alleged bombers. U.S. officials said Americans would be helping, not running, the investigation.
You get those infidels running around, poking into things, no telling what they might uncover. Better just to keep them at the Sheraton and let them know what the guys from the National Guard have found. That should keep them happy and keep any princely necks safe...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/19/2003 03:38 am ||
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This particular prince seems to be the guy we want to make an example of. He's also stated that Saudi terrorists come from outside the country.
I've sluggested here and elsewhere that the Princes are about to do a little in-fighting, and this guy is obviously on the side of terror.
#2
Right Chuck. Lots of infighting. For example, Prince Abdullah is head of National Guard. The Vinnell site was his turf. I'm sure he took it as a personal insult, plus the rumors that NG has been penetrated by AQ/bombers has got to keep him up at night. Remember also that he is kind of a black sheep in that he is only a half brother to King Fahad, Def. Min. Sultan, the afore mentioned Nayef, plus Salman, the gov. of Riyadh Province, plus Prince Majed of of Makka Province, plus a few others. This group is nicknamed the Sudayri seven as their mom came from the Sudayri clan. Abdallah was given the National Guard job 40-50 years ago as Abdullah's constituency are the tribes/clans in the Riyadh area up to Jordan/Syria border. A little complicated, non?
If you saw Adel al-Jubeir on Tim Russert yesterday, notice his reaction to Tim's quoting Nayef's assertions that the Zionists were behind WTC/Pentagon/Penn. murders. No defense of Nayef from Adel. "You should ask him," (meaning Nayef) said Atom Ant. Well, guess who Adel is attached to at the hip? Prince Abdullah. Nayef probably wants that guy to stay home and shut up.
Saudis consider Abdallah to be the most honest of the big princes. He's kind of like Bush, in a way. Likes straight talking, going out to the desert for a little falconing, (Bush likes to clear scrub at Crawford), and is unpretentious. OTOH, he's also a big supporter of looking at ways for foreign companies to come back into oil/gas business and other sectors since Kingdom needs this investment.
Abdallah also can't stand a fool. My friends who taught English to NG members always told me that guys who couldn't pass were held back, unlike a lot of training centers at other ministries where guys would be passed based on connections. So, he's a traditional guy in the best sense, but is open minded as far as what the country has to do so as not to get lost in the shuffle of globalization.
He's got his drawbacks, no doubt. He was asleep at the wheel re bombings. Plus, not too many people accessing this blog would agree with his stance on Israel, for example. And he's sure not a proponent of equality between the sexes or a secular society, but for a Saudi big-shot, he's more pro-US than many think.
Posted by: Michael ||
05/19/2003 9:12 Comments ||
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We should not forget that OBL's first aim was, in reality, a change in government in Saudi Arabia. His funding sources certainly believed that they would be the benificiaries of this change, but I'm also quite certain that OBL had other plans.
And, let's not forget that actions may serve multiple aims. The recent Saudi bombings are directed as much or more at the Saudi government as they are at western interests. The bombings in Morocco may have as much or more to do with Moroccon activites in the disputed Spanish Sahara as with al Qaeda.
We can be giving al Qaeda too much credit for these things, and overlooking the local reasons. I still don't believe the 20,000 agents claims. That would make this terrorist organization the largest in history, and that's just plain unlikely. Maybe 1,000 agents (or less), and relationships with some local groups with some similar aims.
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chuck: if the moroccan sites were strictly on morocco govt targets, or even morocco/spanish i could see that - but what do the Saharans want with a Jewish Comm Center, or with either the Belgian consulate or a Jewish owned restaurant (depending on which side of the street you think was targeted)? Maybe locals, but if so sounds like locals pursuing a broader jihadi agenda. AQ allies, if not actual affiliates. And their ability to coordinate attacks certainly is redolent of AQ itself.
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