The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Al Qaida has infiltrated Saudi military and security forces.
| Comes as a surprise, huh? |
U.S. intelligence and diplomatic sources said assessments by both the CIA and the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency have asserted that Al Qaida operatives in Saudi Arabia have contacts throughout the kingdom's armed forces. The sources said Al Qaida has operatives in the elite National Guard, the Navy and the Army. "The only area where there is no evidence of a significant Al Qaida presence is the Saudi Royal Air Force," a U.S. official familiar with intelligence assessments said. "The police, army, navy, National Guard and all the rest have been infiltrated by Al Qaida." The sources said the Al Qaida suicide attacks on three Western compounds on early Tuesday pointed to the vast amount of knowledge the organization possessed on the layout of the residences and the security detail. They said nine attackers obtained National Guard uniforms, drove to the gates of the compounds, killed actual National Guard soldiers and immediately entered the Western residency complex.
| I hadn't heard the part about the National Guard uniforms... |
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