May 30, 2004
FORCING THE SAUDIS INTO THE WoT:
Hostages Released After Standoff in Saudi Arabia (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 5/30/04)
Saudi forces freed dozens of American and other foreign hostages Sunday after a shooting rampage turned into a daylong standoff with Islamic militants at an expatriate resort. A Saudi security official said the lead attacker was in custody and two other suspects were being arrested.Posted by Orrin Judd at May 30, 2004 7:44 AMSaudi officials would not comment on the condition of the hostages. However, a diplomat in Khobar said officials told him there were deaths among the hostages and attackers. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said he did not know how many hostages were dead, but was informed that two gunmen were killed.
At least 10 others -- including an American -- died in the attack claimed by an al-Qaida-linked group that began Saturday morning when gunmen in military-style dress opened fire on security forces at two oil industry compounds in Khobar, 250 miles northeast of Riyadh.
The assailants -- believed to number up to seven -- then fled up the street, taking some 45-60 hostages in a high-rise housing mainly foreigners.
Impressively, the Saudis did not wring their hands or dither in the least before launching a rescue. Perhaps it was because of the serious implications of the attack (terrorists trying to install the impression that the oil supply can be de-stabilized), but there would be no crisis lasting days or weeks.
Posted by: Bruce Cleaver at May 30, 2004 8:11 AMFolowing onto Bruce, I even wonder if the US government quietly asked them or OK'd an immediate assault, and if every hostage died.... so be it.
We can NOT concern ourselves with hostages lives any longer. We can see this pardigm where, today, if an airborne aircraft is seized, well, it's passengers are hostages. And they are dead as soon as the US Air Force shows up. Because the price of trying to save them now is FAR higher than it was, so they are lost. If the enemy gets through to you, you are dead, so all think and act accordingly.
We CANNOT allow AQ to seize hostages and spend a week winning the War on Terror while we spend that week losing it... to craven "allies", a hand wringing press, and teary eyed yellow ribbon tie-ers. If every hostage situation leads to the death of it's perpetrators within 12 hours, having accomplished nothing but the large scale death they ALREADY are going to do anyway... well... we might see hostage taking go the way of airline hijacking. A thing of the past, for the very same reason.
In this case, the repressive nature of the Saudi government probably played to the advantage of ending the crisis early. A more open society would have had TV news cameras and satellite trucks all over the place, which would have served to personalize the hostages more and make any proactive assult that lead to hostage deaths subject to greater criticism.
Posted by: John at May 30, 2004 12:09 PMI seem to be the only one suspicious of the Sauds. It is now being reported that 3 of the 4 terrorists escaped the raid. It seems obvious to me that they got word of the raid and info about holes in the perimeter from someone inside the army (Ockham's razor).
Posted by: jd watson at May 30, 2004 3:13 PMI'm definitely with JD on this one. The Saudis have demonstrated pretty clearly here that they are NOT on our side in the WoT. Of course the phrasing doesn't even make sense, because they're in the midst of a civil war which has spilled over into what we know as the WoT.
Posted by: brian at May 30, 2004 3:21 PMIt is also possible that not all the "terrorists" looked like Arabs. Although we will probably never know the truth.
Posted by: jim hamlen at May 30, 2004 7:17 PMGives them a good excuse not to increase oil production, no? Or to get a higher price for the extra barrels...
Posted by: jsmith at May 31, 2004 12:10 AMjsmith:
They tried raising prices through the roof before, and killed the Golden Goose.
They now have a range of prices that they'd like oil to trade between, and curret prices are higher than the top end.
Therefore, I don't believe that this had anything to do with raising oil prices.
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at May 31, 2004 6:13 AMMichael--
The market responding to uncertainty is vastly different from a cartel trying to hike prices...
I don't believe this had anything to do with oil prices, but I do believe the effects may benefit the Saudi's bottom line to the detriment of our economy.
Posted by: jsmith at May 31, 2004 2:39 PMTurns out it was all smoke and mirrors, eh?
Such a surprise.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at May 31, 2004 5:50 PM