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| Arabia | ||||
| Brothels and bombs in Saudi Arabia | ||||
| 2003-12-08 | ||||
| EFL, keep salt handy The suicide bomb attack at the Muhaya residential compound in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on November 9 in which at least 17 people were killed - most of them foreign Arabs - was neither an episode of global jihadi terrorism nor part of a conspiracy to destabilize the House of Saud. A Pakistani undercover intelligence operator who recently returned from Riyadh told Asia Times Online that the attack was in fact the result of a deep divide within Saudi society between strict religious conservatives with little exposure to the outside world, and a more "liberal" element with the money and power to indulge in restricted activities. The compound attacked on November 9 was inhabited mainly by Lebanese, Palestinians and Egyptians, and it had earned notoriety as a "pleasure ground" for Saudi "playboys" in a country in which prostitution is outlawed.
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| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #16 The FreeRepublic posted an article on 11/11/03 that cited a DebkaFiles. http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1019545/posts Al Qaeda’s targeting of Muhaya and its Arab population at first puzzled Saudi and foreign counter-terror authorities - until it was realized that many of the casualties were Lebanese Christians and the assailants Lebanese Muslims. The terrorist network had very pointedly opted to sow death inside a focus of Christian habitation in the Muslim kingdom on the Muslim feast of Ramadan. I've heard mention of the Maronite Christian connection before. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2003-12-8 5:40:15 PM |
| #15 Disinformation. AQ was starting to take flak from muslims for booming muslims. Now it's a case of "tweren't us'ns, 'twas them'ums". And the source is Pak ISS? think it through. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2003-12-8 3:35:40 PM |
| #14 Michael - So it was the Jedawel compound in Riyadh that was hit? I never heard anyone report the name - I was here in up-country TL, then. There's a Jedawel spot in Al Khobar, too. I've never been to Riyadh - which must be where the Kingdom Compound is? Back in '92 you had to have some sort of letter to cross province borders. I got stopped on a jaunt up to take a look at Al Khafji, but the guard let us go through on condition we came back before his shift ended... we (Americans, Brits) were actually appreciated for a short while after Gulf I. So, uh, how's the "nightlife" in Riyadh? I assume that's where you worked? I'm sure there has to big a fairly large one - so many people and ranking Royals. Heh. I've heard some very interesting stories about Jeddah - both spectrum extremes seem to be the norm, there. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-8 3:01:46 PM |
| #13 In Kuala Lumpur (and surrounding area) in Malaysia it was pretty relaxed from what I saw of hotel and restaurant menus. I was only there twice - longest stay was a week. I'm sure it gets "stricter" as you move out away from the zones trafficked by tourists and int'l business types. Never been to Indonesia - but we know from the Bali hit that they had a similar pattern prior to JI going active under the gentle guiding hand of spiritual leader Bashir. Now I'd guess that very few places dare - since the Gov't hasn't the stones to go after the JI in a serious fashion. Big on zapping the cannon fodder, but... |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-8 2:39:08 PM |
| #12 .com Don't forget Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and his Kingdom Compound. King Fahad's youngest son (and supposedly favorite; he is minister without portfolio) and his Jedawel compound got blasted back in May. Many more stories abound. |
| Posted by: Michael 2003-12-8 2:27:42 PM |
| #11 Are the Moslems in the Indies more or less likely to keep haram (?) I have a theory that where there's easily accessible fruit there is BBQ pig regardless of religon. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-8 1:59:43 PM |
| #10 OW - What I left out is that compounds tend to segregate, sometimes by policy - sometimes by taste, and in the Westerner-dominated compounds (the type I lived in the last 2 yrs I was there) this delicacy (and you guessed correctly) is sorely missed. So there were shopping expeditions organized to fill many orders - and I won't tell how they got it thru the causeway Customs. Believe me, the guys look, too, if they decide to get serious with you. My long gray beard made me memorable and they never really checked any car I was in - a cursory look and stamped the form. But some Saudis & Bahraini Arabs indulge themselves frequently. When I went to Bahrain I always had breakfast at a place near the Grand Mosque called Ryk's Kountry Kitchen - Cajun / Tex / Mex - and there were regulars, including Arabs, chowing down on Ryk's homemade pork sausage, etc. I recommend the Lumberjack plate - 5.50 BD (approx $15 USD). Hey, you don't know what you've got till it's gone - I had dreams about Italian sausage pizza - and for whatever reason, you couldn't get that type of sausage except at the Aramco Commissary - off-limits to poor contractors like me. Now, in Thailand, I've quenched that craving and dream very different dreams! ;-> |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-8 12:28:49 PM |
| #9 but good BBQ and sausage doesn't seem worth the effort You poor ignorant soul! ;) |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-8 11:43:04 AM |
#8 The Saudi government has officially blamed al-Qaeda, even though the group is highly unlikely to be the culprit.Let's see, muslims murdering innocent civilians for "religious" reasons. Call it what you want, but that is qaeda's M.O. How about from now on we just call them MULSIM murderbots, and leave it up to the Islamists to assign credit to the Muslim murder group of its choosing. |
| Posted by: Islam Suck 2003-12-8 11:36:04 AM |
| #7 .com- I can understand Rich Saudis working haram deals to get porn, booze, drugs and hookers. But pork? It's tasty and all, but good BBQ and sausage doesn't seem worth the effort. Or am I understanding "flat-nosed beef" incorrectly? |
| Posted by: OminousWhatever 2003-12-8 11:23:23 AM |
| #6 They bombed a cathouse? These guys are sick. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-12-8 11:14:47 AM |
| #5 .com, I don't think we'd be all that surprised at what sites the Saudis block. There was a list a while back, of some of them. The Anne Frank Memorial's site was one of those blocked. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-12-8 9:41:49 AM |
| #4 This tidbit of Pakiwacki intel could easily be true. The game in Saudi is about walls and guarded entry gates. What goes on outside the compounds - out there is the shit - is under the control of the mutawas. What goes on inside the compounds is something else, entirely. Inside, women dress normally, there are "clubs" and group shopping arrangements to acquire "flat-nosed beef" and, occasionally, more exotic products and services. In '92, on Anzac Day, a particular compound in Al Khobar, containing two clubs (called Manhatten and Cheers) sold out of all forms of alcohol by about 3:00 PM. And I mean everything. When I came in with a friend after work, about 4:30 PM, there were Aussies passed out all over the compound. In yards, on sidewalks, in the street. Looked like a scene from a Sci-Fi Movie where everyone had suddenly died in mid-step. It was a trip and, as I said, the well was dry. In Al Khobar, the exotic services have moved over to Bahrain - you just need to know which hotels have which variety, Syrians, Russians, whatever - all safely across the causeway. In Riyadh, in the middle of the country, they haven't got this convenient escape - so I'm sure there are compound which specialize. To stay in business, they have to offer services to Saudis - and those Saudis keep them open and hold the mutawas at bay. Such compounds are invariably owned by a protege clan of a Royal of some rank - never directly. There is juice to be paid to each level of the scheme. The Al Rashid and Al Bustan families come to mind as they own compounds and a myriad of business across the Kingdom - and they are seriously connected. Living in an unnamed compound until last April meant that I could get an unmonitored and direct satellite Internet link - otherwise very very illegal. Only about $100 USD / month. All Internet connections are supposed to go thru the single official connection to the outside world - so they can ban / block everything that they don't want their people to see. You would be amazed at what is blocked - the list of sites is enormous. There are ways around such proxies, of course, but I don't want to ruin it for those still there. This is just the tip of the iceberg of hypocrisy and special favors and juice and connections and baksheesh and general insanity that passes for the norm there. I thought you might find it of interest. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-8 9:23:17 AM |
| #3 "Verlly interesting-But Stupid"(Artty Johnson:LaughIn) |
| Posted by: Raptor 2003-12-8 8:54:48 AM |
| #2 Walid Phares (U of Florida Atlantic department head and MSNBC analyst) agues that the attack was part of operation 'exterminate Maronites in Arabia'. Maronites are Christian but speak Arabic. |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-12-8 8:38:43 AM |
| #1 Hmmm.......interesting theory on the bombing as an expression of moral outrage. I give it a 2.5, but maybe out of ignorance. Maybe alot has been lost in translation from Arabic. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-12-8 8:11:36 AM |