THE US, THE UN AND IRAQ VI

He was killed while disposing of the body.

By the way, Sofia, Muslims pleaded for the terrorists not to kill him. I mention this here because if I remember correctly you have asked about why they do not speak up (they do, you just don't read about it AND remember it).

Since the presentation of protest petitions to the royal house in the nineties, the opposition has not succeeded in breaking through the majlis-culture of non-committal consultations. The current radical opposition seems to confirm this weakness. It exists of an expansive network of cells that can only operate isolated and underground. [..]

It is not clear whether these radical groups have sufficient support to overthrow the regime with violence. The Afghanistan veterans and other radicals are dependent of wider layers of the population, which reject the kind of violence that these groups apply. This became clear after the first two attacks in Riyad in May and November last year. Great indignation was expressed about the suicide actions that targeted apartment complexes where mostly foreigners lived. Aside from the nine Americans who died in the attack on the apartment complex of Vinnell [..], the rest of the 35 victims (among whom the six perpetrators) were Muslim. Fiercer still was the reaction to the attack in November in which all 18 victims were Muslim. Among them was a number of children too.

The [resulting] discussion among radical groups about the use of violence mostly revolves around making innocent victims. [..] Moreover, almost all Saudis reject committing suicide actions against one's own government. The attack on the building of the security services in April this year also does not seem to meet approval. A child that happened to pass by was killed in that action. The fact that supporters of the jihad are even alienating parts of their own circles became clear from a television interview in November with some of their religious sheiks, who publicly withdrew their previous legitimisation of assaults against the regime.

It seems that the radical current has learned from the negative reactions to earlier actions. The attack in Yanbu from 1 May and that of Khobar last Sunday are of very different character. This time no martyrs who shouted Allahu akbar (God is great) while blowing themselves up with their victims, but a planned action targeting non-Muslims. In Yanbu six employees from a Swiss-Swedish engineers buro fell victim and last Sunday 22 non-Muslims, among whom 8 Indian Hindus, did. Furthermore three of the four perpetrators succeeded in escaping alive.

But although these actions perhaps suit the theological criteria of the underground's own radical supporters better, the victims are still innocent, even if they are not Muslim. [..] Thus far, the Saudi regime seems to have to rely more on the aversion to the violence [perpetrated by the radicals] among the population of Saudi-Arabia than on any sincere sympathy [for its rule].

Just like there is a world from before and after 11 September 2001, thus there is a Morocco from before and after 16 May 2003. On that day, fourteen suicide terrorists committed five attacks in Casablanca. The horrible result: over fourty deaths and a hundred wounded. [..]

The first reaction was disgust and disbelief. "Moroccans don't blow themselves up", many said. [..] The government, too, was confused and came with different, contradictory statements. In first instance, it pointed the finger to international terrorism, but quickly it had to acknowledge that the fourteen suspected perpetrators didn't just all hail from Morocco, but probably even from Sidi Mumin, the large shantytown of Casablanca. The disbelief was also expressed in the massive demonstration that was held in Casablanca a week after the attacks. About 800,000 people, Muslims and Jews, citizens and politicians, religious and secular leaders, came together against terror.

Craven de Kere wrote:

He was killed while disposing of the body.

Yeah, right. These were Saudi's 'most wanted men' and hey! They're dead.

I dunno.

The Saudi government is a target of the terrorists. Many of the Saudi people supposrt the terrorists.

The Saudi government has pretty much always been steadfastly against the terrorists. The Saudi street has long had substantial portions of their population sympathyze with the terrorists.

I must say you are quite the turd for speaking to me in a manner that seems to insinuate that I have been scouring the earth for reasons to poke at Muslims.

A century or so ago, The US found itself the subject of an earlier jihadist insurgency, in the Philipines, recently liberated from Spain. Attacks on the nascent democratic civilian infrastructure, including kidnappings and murders, as well as ongoing US casualties, became increasingly troublesome. A large number of the jihadiosts had been taken prisoner, captured by US and indigenous Philipino forces. Some 50 of these jihadists had been tried for various heinous crimes, found guilty, and sentenced to death by firing squad. The leaders of the insurgency of course responded with outrage, demands for the immediate release of their compatriots, and promises of direst consequences should their wishes not be met. Several local officials, functionaries, and dignitaries were taken hostage.

The US commander, General "Blackjack" Pershing, later to gain great fame as a key architect of the Allied WWI victory, reportedly met the challenge in imaginative and decisive manner. He had, so the story goes, the condemned guerillas assembled in a public square. Some pigs, anethema to Islamists, were slaughtered. The assembled firing squad dipped their bullets in the pig blood before executing the prisoners, one-by-one. The affair occupied much of the day. As each corpse was placed in the waiting burial pit, a bit of the pig flesh accompanied it. When all was done, the remaining pig blood, flesh, and entrails were spread over the bodies of the executed criminals and the pit was filled with earth. By their beliefs, the jihadists, tainted by contact with swine, thus were denied entrance into heaven. Word spread rapidly throughout the islands, and the insurgency collapsed within days. All of the hostages were recovered unharmed.

I was not alone in impatience for this particular 'ilk' to speak up.

Most would agree mainsteam Islam has stepped up their anti-terrorist disclaimers, certainly during this latest round of kidnappings and Johnson's murder. I applaud the change.

The US commander, General "Blackjack" Pershing, later to gain great fame as a key architect of the Allied WWI victory, reportedly met the challenge in imaginative and decisive manner. He had, so the story goes, the condemned guerillas assembled in a public square.

I dont think, personally - sorry if I sound like I'm merely echoing the article I just partly translated - that many Saudis support the terrorist (though it depends on what you call "many", of course - are you only talking about a vibrant subculture, or really a significant share of the overall population?).

I think at most, beyond the militant subculture of radicals and "Afghan" veterans, that many Saudis dislike the regime enough to take a relatively passive bystanders role when the militants attack the government.

As for the Saudi government always having been steadfastly against the terrorists, I really dunno about that either. I am no expert on the matter, but just remembering by heart from the stuff I did read, it seems a pretty common observation that the government turned something of a blind eye to the vibrant support by charities etc to militant and terrorist-related organisations and to the many Saudi mujahedeen volunteers who went to Afghanistan etc.


As long as their activities weren't directed against the Saudi government, it seemed to largely tolerate it all, perhaps in the hope of achieving a kind of peaceful coexistence with the militants.

That approach now seems to be backfiring.

Anyway, that would be my take.

"All further relations with Saudi Arabia must be entirely contingent on the kingdom's progress cracking down, reigning in and snuffing out its terrorist problem. Deeds -- not words -- must be the benchmark of Saudi progress in solving the terrorist problem that threatens its society as much as it threatens our own."