Stop tip-toeing around Saudi reality

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-05-19 08:27pm

http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/ ... 322D86AEDB

Stop tip-toeing around Saudi reality
Stephen Schwartz
The Wall Street Journal
Friday, May 16, 2003

The bombings this week in Riyadh are only the latest evidence that the Saudi government cannot and will not suppress extremism. The wake-up calls keep coming, but the United States refuses to recognize the kingdom's involvement with terrorism.

In the weeks leading up to the bombing, it is now reported that the United States requested additional security at American compounds based on intercepted communications. It was a familiar pattern, and one that a nation now experienced in terror-talk and embassy bombings knew to take seriously. But the Saudis didn't come through -- the compound was left vulnerable, even on the eve of a visit to the country by Colin Powell.

As the dust settled on the compound, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal had tough words to offer. "Whoever did this will regret it," he said.

That's not likely. On Saudi territory, al-Qaeda enjoys vast resources in the ranks of the clerical hierarchy and the state. Al- Qaeda terrorism in the kingdom itself -- described by Ali al-Ahmed, a Washington-based advocate of thoroughgoing reform in Arabia, as the emergence of "al-Qaeda II" -- demonstrates the retrenchment of the conspiracy to its home ground and its strongest redoubt.

The state religious dispensation, the Wahhabi sect of Islam, preaches violence against non-Wahhabi Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, and others.

Throughout the Iraq war, Wahhabi preachers spewed forth anti- American vitriol. Saudi fanatics went north to die fighting the Western infidels -- some directed the Ansar ul-Islam terrorist group that was destroyed in Iraqi Kurdistan by American troops. And Saudis incited people in the town of Falluja, where Sunnis were stirred to rise up and die confronting coalition forces.

Need more? Consider the affiliation of Asan Akbar -- the American Muslim extremist who killed and wounded fellow soldiers at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait -- with a Saudi-controlled mosque in Los Angeles and the Saudi-dominated Muslim Students Association. Or consider the revelation that Princess Haifa, wife of Saudi ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, had donated funds that just happened to wind up in the hands of two of the Sept. 11 suicide pilots.

Saudi Arabia is one of the most repressive police states on the globe. Massive bombing conspiracies do not take place under such conditions without some acquiescence by elements high in the state structure. The bombings in Riyadh, in other words, were an atrocity foretold. Saudi analyst Yahya al-Hami noted that the anti- Western sermons in government mosques, disseminated in the media and on the Internet, have been relentless. "It was bound to happen, anyone would have seen it coming," he told the opposition Saudi Information Agency.

Some simple points about Saudi reality can't be wished away. Al- Qaeda has been defeated in many parts of the world, but a serious campaign for its destruction has yet to begin in its country of origin. Saudi authorities promise meaningless "financial reforms," when arrests, seizures of assets, trials and punishments are required. They claim to have detained various individuals who are never named while known sympathizers of al-Qaeda continue to walk the streets of the kingdom's cities, untouched.

Among clerical hatemongers, Ayed al-Qarni, an adviser to Prince Abdel Aziz bin Fahd, the youngest son of King Fahd, stands out. Al- Qarni wrote a poem, repeatedly broadcast on Saudi media during the Iraq intervention, in which he declared, "Slaughter the enemy infidels and say there is but one God." This lyric was supplemented by an interview in the Future of Islam -- a monthly issued by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth -- for April 2003.

Therein, al-Qarni proudly affirmed that he prays daily for America's destruction, and incited Saudis to cross the border to fight in Iraq, and to give money to support Saddam. During the Iraq war, Wahhabi preacher Naser al-Omar called for suicide attacks on the coalition. Interviewed by a Saudi-backed TV station operating from Dubai, he said, "We should hope for more terror bombings to kill more of the enemies of God -- Jews and Christians." A pro-Saddam fatwa signed by him and other clerics was distributed in Saudi government offices.

The scenario may be even more sinister. The targets of the bombings included Vinnell Corp., of Fairfax, Va., which trains the Saudi National Guard, a body reporting to Crown Prince Abdullah. His rival, Minister of the Interior Prince Nayef, has been notably bland in dealing with terrorism and apparently believes that Jews were responsible for Sept. 11. Prince Nayef and his hard-line faction may be attempting to oust Prince Abdullah, the only member of the royal family with a pro-reform reputation. If Prince Nayef and the Wahhabis prevail, the kingdom will head deeper into the black hole.

Why are we tiptoeing around reality and expressing pious hopes that removal of U.S. troops from Saudi territory will alleviate the situation? Why should we wish to return to a role as happy courtesans of the most reactionary, benighted, oppressive monarchy in modern history?

Saudi rulers have always depended on foreign troops -- the Christian bayonets of the U.S., Britain and France -- to keep them in power. And they have always fostered the extremist Wahhabi ideology that calls for American heads. They use Wahhabi terrorism as a weapon to pressure the United States into supporting them.

The time has come for the duplicity to end. U.S. President George Bush and U.S. Secretary of State Powell must issue non-negotiable demands that the Saudi authorities finally -- a year-and-a-half late -- provide a full accounting of their subjects' involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. As Ronald Reagan demanded that the Soviet Union cease its funding of leftist terrorism, U.S. leaders must demand that Saudi Arabia stop funding the global expansion of Wahhabism. Nothing less is acceptable.

Stephen Schwartz, the author of The Two Faces of Islam: The House of Saud from Tradition to Terror, directs the Islam and Democracy Program at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington.

Enforcer Talen · Post by **Enforcer Talen** » 2003-05-19 08:41pm

what do you suggest? another invasion?

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-05-19 08:52pm

Enforcer Talen wrote:what do you suggest? another invasion?

I would suggest that we cut our dependence on their oil. That way we won't have to defend them and put up with their bullshit. If al'Quada takes out the royal family, I will lose no sleep over it.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-05-19 08:53pm

Wicked Pilot wrote: If al'Quada takes out the royal family, I will lose no sleep over it.

And then we can bomb the shit out of the now Al Quaeda controlled
country!

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-05-19 09:06pm

I agree with Wicked Pilot. Find a way to cut our ties to them and then really hold their feet to the fire. It's clear that there's only so much they'll do because they know we can't afford to push them to go farther. Once we can I bet we'll see a real difference in how much they'll do to stamp out the extremism that leads to terrorism.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-05-19 09:12pm

Sadly, the Saudi royal family is one of the few things even marginally holding back the fanatics in that country. They're assholes to be sure, but if they were gone, Saudi Arabia would become MORE hostile to the west, not less.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2003-05-19 09:15pm

Darth Wong wrote:Sadly, the Saudi royal family is one of the few things even marginally holding back the fanatics in that country. They're assholes to be sure, but if they were gone, Saudi Arabia would become MORE hostile to the west, not less.

What proof do we have that they`re holding back the fanatics,maybe they`re financing them through a Swiss bank account.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-05-19 09:21pm

Darth Wong wrote:Sadly, the Saudi royal family is one of the few things even marginally holding back the fanatics in that country. They're assholes to be sure, but if they were gone, Saudi Arabia would become MORE hostile to the west, not less.

They're also one of the driving forces behind the militant Islam and anti-western hatred that has made it such a problem. They hold back the Islamo-fundies true, but only enough to avoid provoking the US and from openly attacking them. The rest of the time they fuel them and appease them.

The House of Saud needs some cleaning. They need to be pushed into dealing with the problem not actively making it worse.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-05-19 10:08pm

Montcalm wrote:
What proof do we have that they`re holding back the fanatics,maybe they`re financing them through a Swiss bank account.

Bind Laden and his gang along with many other groups are openly against the Royal Family and want to wipe it out and throw in there own even more crazed repressive Islamic government. This is not a secret.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-05-19 10:50pm

Sea Skimmer wrote: Bind Laden and his gang along with many other groups are openly against the Royal Family and want to wipe it out and throw in there own even more crazed repressive Islamic government. This is not a secret.

In the long run that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. It would just force us to come to an accounting with the Islamists. As long as the House of Saud is running the KSA, we're going to have to deal with a steadily growing an pervasive influence of radical elements in the Islamic Umma. If they overthrew the government of the KSA and declared a new Caliphate or some other wackiness, we could just throw their gotterdamerung for them and that would be that.

NapoleonGH · Post by **NapoleonGH** » 2003-05-19 10:52pm

saudi is of course the REASON for 9-11, our support of the house of saud, plus american troops in Mecca, is the stated reason for Al-queda not likeing us, now i wouldnt say this is the actual underlying reason (At least in full) but it is the stated reason for the attacks. I see no reason for us to be there anyway proping up a bunch of pricks, let them fall.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-05-20 12:42am

NapoleonGH wrote:saudi is of course the REASON for 9-11, our support of the house of saud, plus american troops in Mecca, is the stated reason for Al-queda not likeing us, now i wouldnt say this is the actual underlying reason (At least in full) but it is the stated reason for the attacks. I see no reason for us to be there anyway proping up a bunch of pricks, let them fall.

As long as we have a plan for efficiently dealing with the aftermath.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-05-20 04:38am

MKSheppard wrote:
Wicked Pilot wrote: If al'Quada takes out the royal family, I will lose no sleep over it.
And then we can bomb the shit out of the now Al Quaeda controlled
country!

That is a really good point. It would beat the hell out of trying to root them out of whatever holes they're hiding in now.

Wicked Pilot · Post by **Wicked Pilot** » 2003-05-20 12:14pm

Saudi Arabia is just one big shit sandwich and I'm afraid that no matter what we do we'll eventually have to take a big bite.

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2003-05-20 12:42pm

I suppose one of the benefits of the Iraq operation for the United States would be that once Iraq gets reestablished, the United States can slowly begin to reduce dependency on the Saudis, thus allowing the US to put more pressure on Saudi Arabia if it wants to.

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-05-20 12:48pm

As far as I'm concerned, the entire Middle East is one big cesspool... and frankly, I don't see any way for us to completely exterminate terrorism over there. Maybe we can persuade them to get rid of most of it, but it'll always be there as long as Islam exists...

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2003-05-21 12:03am

Sea Skimmer wrote:Bind Laden and his gang along with many other groups are openly against the Royal Family and want to wipe it out and throw in there own even more crazed repressive Islamic government. This is not a secret.

That's true. But a lot of the government minister and officials wouldn't mind that sort of government. Hell, some of the lesser members of the House of Saud have possible links to terrorists.

And even the "friendly" members are playing a dangerous game of appeasement with the terrorists.