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Arabia
Imprisoned Soddy al-Qaeda treated like family
2004-12-15
Seven jailed Saudi militants have made a televised appeal to al Qaeda sympathisers in the kingdom to surrender, denying reports of torture in captivity and saying prison guards treated them like family. The apparently repentant militants appeared on state television to persuade the fighters behind an 18-month wave of violence they will not be mistreated if they turn themselves in. Cameras were allowed into a Riyadh prison for the television programme, which aired late Tuesday, to show gleaming corridors, rows of colourful beds and books piled on bedside tables.
Filmed at the Riyadh Ikea.
"Anyone who has experienced the reality finds a big difference between the many cases of torture we heard about and what we found," prisoner Abdulrahman al-Ahmari said.
"The Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce are exceptional. Really first rate."
The dealings with the prison administration, the sympathy for the prisoners' wishes ... I can call it a family connection," Ahmari told the programme.
"The House of Sod Department of Corrections...It's A Family Affair!"
Well, everyone there seems to be related.
Saudi television has previously broadcast footage of jailed militants calling on their former comrades to surrender, but the glowing portrayal of prison marks a new tactic in the state media drive to undermine support for al Qaeda. "We heard about torture, about mistreatment ... I found that al-Hayer (prison) was not like that," said Ahmari, referring to the detention centre near the Saudi capital where he was held.
"Truly, more like a finishing school for wayward hard boyz. And the corrections officers are so friendly, ya know? They really try hard to get to know you...always asking questions 'n' stuff..."
Abdullah al-Silmi said he surrendered after hearing Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz say that militants who gave themselves up would be treated more leniently and those who were just sympathisers had nothing to fear. "If I had known I would have had this reception, by God I would have surrendered a long time ago," he said. "...I advise the wanted brothers who harbour these thoughts to give themselves up". Khaled al-Harbi, who appeared in a videotape with Saudi-born al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden praising the Sept. 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, told the television programme he surrendered after hearing about the June amnesty on the radio. Othman al-Amri, who was number 19 on a list of Saudi Arabia's 26 most wanted militants before he gave himself up in June, praised the treatment he received. "After I came and saw these peoples' situation, I swear to God it's better than our family," he said.
Sounds swell. Has the International Red Moon-Shaped Thingy Crescent Society inspected their cells yet?
Posted by:Dan Darling

#6  Heh, we're terminally suspicious - Madison Ave has been trying to sell us "New!" and "Improved!" for more than a generation, now. That has made many of us (approx 51% in last national polling cycle, heh) very tough-minded tough-sells. This silly sappy shit wouldn't get to first base with any real TV-fed American, lol!
Posted by: .com   2004-12-15 7:23:23 PM  

#5  I'm with .com. This is a bit difficult for my western mind to absorb, especially if it works.
Posted by: Tom   2004-12-15 7:18:21 PM  

#4  .com the problem must be imbedded in the languge.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-12-15 5:29:29 PM  

#3  What do you mean "like"?
Looks like repenting season's coming soon.
Posted by: tu3031   2004-12-15 12:59:11 PM  

#2  If the bad boyz flock to gaol as a result of this propaganda, I'm fer it.

If the Soddies are just using this as bait to test the effectiveness of the brainwashing, I'm agin it.

But it smells, either way.
Posted by: Seafarious   2004-12-15 12:53:41 PM  

#1  I've started, and abandoned, a reply to this story 4 times. There is something in this article that illuminates a fundamental difference between Arab-think and Western-think (at least the rational / logical variety I consider "normal"), but I am having a hell of a time expressing it satisfactorily.

I'll say this: Yagoub Average Saudi will prolly believe what he sees if the context is "right" - i.e. fits with what he would expect to see were it true. The correct staging, hitting the right visual symbolic cues, will, indeed, succeed in bringing some of these guys in. It's a lot like the memes that have driven most of us semi-crazy for the last year. They buy memes in a heartbeat, by the bucket - it's why they're such big fans of conspiracy shit. Create and present your meme well, hitting the right buttons, and the context will fall away presently and they'll follow it anywhere. This is, of course, unacceptable in Western-style logic and rational / critical thinking for the validity depends upon the context of the idea. (Exception: "c" - the speed of light, heh...) Think about how OBL uses "Crusader" or how CP Abdullah can simply blame it on the Jooos, almost utterly devoid of context - because the listener, with his vast cultural store of what-to-think info, not how-to-think tools, will just parrot the pre-digested meme subtext and fill in whatever is needed to justify the meme... and now you can fill in some of the gaps I'm leaving with this perfectly rotten explanation, lol!

I don't want to write a book, so I surrender, lol! Contribute your own explanation, expats, but don't nit-pick - I've already admitted failure and will curse your ancestry for being petty and gutless!
Posted by: .com   2004-12-15 12:06:53 PM  

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