June 1, 2004
CAN'T THEY FIND MARTYRS ANYMORE?:
Saudi: Gunmen allowed to escape: Al Qaeda blamed for attack (CNN, May 31, 2004)
Three of four attackers who killed 22 people in the Saudi oil city of Khobar were allowed to escape because they were threatening to kill 242 people being held as human shields, a senior Saudi Interior Ministry official says.A group connected to the al Qaeda terrorist network claimed responsibility for the weekend attacks, saying they were intended to show the Saudi government cannot protect its oil workers.
The official said Monday the attackers told Saudi commanders they were wearing explosive belts and would set off blasts killing the people they were holding.
At that point, the official said, the Saudi commanders decided to let them go.
The idea is not to let them go very far. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 1, 2004 6:07 PM
Maybe the idea is to take whatever emerges from Saudi Arabian official sources with a rather large grain of salt.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at June 1, 2004 6:14 PMFor all we know, they went to a palace owned by a rambunctious royal.
Posted by: jim hamlen at June 1, 2004 6:45 PMI've been reading a couple of Saudi blogs claiming the terrorists have a lot of sympathizers in the Saudi armed forces, religious police, and Wahabi establishment. Given that, it makes sense that sympathizers among the Saudi authorities might not be too enthusiastic about pursuing them. (There's a rumor that the Saudis are hiring non-Muslim mercenaries for the purpose -- including ex-KGB "interrogators".)
The Land of 10,000 Princes (TM) is about to get handed the bill on the deal they made with the Wahabi many years ago -- "You can control the schools, run the religious police, do anything you want as long as you don't move against the Royal Family; here's all the oil money you want." Now the Wahabi -- and their offshoots like al-Qaeda -- mean to collect. Big time.
Playtime's over, 10,000 Princes of the House of Saud; time to pay up.
Posted by: Ken at June 1, 2004 8:30 PMYour idea, Orrin, but possibly not theirs.
There is no significant difference between the attackers and the defenders of public order in Saudi Arabia.
We've seen this often enough elsewhere. Time to recognize it there, too.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at June 2, 2004 2:25 PMThe defenders want to stay in power--they'll be perfectly happy to destroy Wahhabism to do so.
Posted by: oj at June 2, 2004 2:34 PMHappy but perhaps not capable.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at June 3, 2004 3:38 PM