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| Arabia | |
| Saudis Limit U.S. Role in Bombing Probe | |
| 2003-05-19 | |
Saudi authorities called for an international effort to crack down on terrorism as they announced the arrests of four suspects apparently linked to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network in the May 12 suicide bombings in Riyadh. Despite the strong words, Saudi Arabia's interior minister Prince Nayef downplayed the role played by U.S. investigators in probing the attacks on three foreign housing complexes he linked to al-Qaida. During a tense press conference Sunday, Nayef called for "a concerted international effort" to crack down on those who plan such attacks. He did not identify those he suspected of being behind them. Nayef described a limited role for U.S. investigators in the kingdom, saying they had come to examine "the sites and we welcomed them based on that, for examining only." More than 60 FBI and other U.S. investigators are assisting Saudi authorities with the probe into the May 12 attacks, which killed 34 people, including nine alleged bombers. U.S. officials said Americans would be helping, not running, the investigation.
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| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #6 oops - above anonymous was me |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-19 11:21:48 |
| #5 chuck: if the moroccan sites were strictly on morocco govt targets, or even morocco/spanish i could see that - but what do the Saharans want with a Jewish Comm Center, or with either the Belgian consulate or a Jewish owned restaurant (depending on which side of the street you think was targeted)? Maybe locals, but if so sounds like locals pursuing a broader jihadi agenda. AQ allies, if not actual affiliates. And their ability to coordinate attacks certainly is redolent of AQ itself. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-05-19 11:20:44 |
| #4 I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear of some of the billions of saudi "princes" having unfortunate accidents whilst driving in the desert. |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-05-19 09:46:48 |
| #3 We should not forget that OBL's first aim was, in reality, a change in government in Saudi Arabia. His funding sources certainly believed that they would be the benificiaries of this change, but I'm also quite certain that OBL had other plans. And, let's not forget that actions may serve multiple aims. The recent Saudi bombings are directed as much or more at the Saudi government as they are at western interests. The bombings in Morocco may have as much or more to do with Moroccon activites in the disputed Spanish Sahara as with al Qaeda. We can be giving al Qaeda too much credit for these things, and overlooking the local reasons. I still don't believe the 20,000 agents claims. That would make this terrorist organization the largest in history, and that's just plain unlikely. Maybe 1,000 agents (or less), and relationships with some local groups with some similar aims. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-19 09:37:02 |
| #2 Right Chuck. Lots of infighting. For example, Prince Abdullah is head of National Guard. The Vinnell site was his turf. I'm sure he took it as a personal insult, plus the rumors that NG has been penetrated by AQ/bombers has got to keep him up at night. Remember also that he is kind of a black sheep in that he is only a half brother to King Fahad, Def. Min. Sultan, the afore mentioned Nayef, plus Salman, the gov. of Riyadh Province, plus Prince Majed of of Makka Province, plus a few others. This group is nicknamed the Sudayri seven as their mom came from the Sudayri clan. Abdallah was given the National Guard job 40-50 years ago as Abdullah's constituency are the tribes/clans in the Riyadh area up to Jordan/Syria border. A little complicated, non? If you saw Adel al-Jubeir on Tim Russert yesterday, notice his reaction to Tim's quoting Nayef's assertions that the Zionists were behind WTC/Pentagon/Penn. murders. No defense of Nayef from Adel. "You should ask him," (meaning Nayef) said Atom Ant. Well, guess who Adel is attached to at the hip? Prince Abdullah. Nayef probably wants that guy to stay home and shut up. Saudis consider Abdallah to be the most honest of the big princes. He's kind of like Bush, in a way. Likes straight talking, going out to the desert for a little falconing, (Bush likes to clear scrub at Crawford), and is unpretentious. OTOH, he's also a big supporter of looking at ways for foreign companies to come back into oil/gas business and other sectors since Kingdom needs this investment. Abdallah also can't stand a fool. My friends who taught English to NG members always told me that guys who couldn't pass were held back, unlike a lot of training centers at other ministries where guys would be passed based on connections. So, he's a traditional guy in the best sense, but is open minded as far as what the country has to do so as not to get lost in the shuffle of globalization. He's got his drawbacks, no doubt. He was asleep at the wheel re bombings. Plus, not too many people accessing this blog would agree with his stance on Israel, for example. And he's sure not a proponent of equality between the sexes or a secular society, but for a Saudi big-shot, he's more pro-US than many think. |
| Posted by: Michael 2003-05-19 09:12:44 |
| #1 This particular prince seems to be the guy we want to make an example of. He's also stated that Saudi terrorists come from outside the country. I've sluggested here and elsewhere that the Princes are about to do a little in-fighting, and this guy is obviously on the side of terror. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2003-05-19 07:23:50 |