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| Arabia |
| Soddies launch campaign to dissuade hard boyz from joining jihad |
| 2005-09-20 |
| Ahmad bin Abdullah al-Shayie, a 21-year-old Saudi, nearly blew himself up in Baghdad a year ago, when he drove an oil tanker laden with explosives into a city neighbourhood. He survived, having been ejected out of the vehicle by the force of the blast. Arrested by Iraqi police, he was handed over to the Saudi government. This week, the young militant's story appeared in newspaper interviews and on television in Riyadh as part of a government campaign to dissuade other young men from joining the Iraqi insurgency. Mr Shayie claimed he had been hired only as a driver and had no idea he would be used as a suicide bomber. He advised Saudi youth against following his example. Publicised confessions of detained militants are common in Saudi Arabia, though they are received with scepticism by the public. ButMr Shayie's appearance reflects the concern of the authorities over the participation of local militants in the Iraq conflict. As Saudi security forces battle militants at home and seek to undermine the religious support they have enjoyed, they dread the prospect that some radical youth could return from Iraq with even deadlier skills. "It's embarrassing when Saudis are found in Iraq and they could come back evenmore dangerous and better trained," says Abdelaziz al-Qassim, a political analyst. By US commanders' own admission, foreign fighters make up no more than 10 per cent of the Iraqi insurgency but the attacks they are involved in tend to be the most bloody and most spectacular. The number of Saudi militants in Iraq is difficult to determine. Some studies have suggested that as many as 60 per cent of foreign fighters in Iraq are Saudi and local analysts say that in the most conservative parts of the kingdom it is now common for families to have one member fighting against US troops in Iraq. Saudi intelligence, however, believes that the percentage is far lower and that only 350 Saudis, or about 12 per cent of their estimate of the foreign contingent - are thought to have entered Iraq, 53 of whom are dead. The figures are cited by a recent report by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, which also says that 85 per cent of the Saudis who entered Iraq were not on any government watch list. They appeared to be motivated by anger at the US invasion and to have been encouraged by the calls of local radical clerics. More recently, however, some Saudi militants have left the kingdom to escape the domestic security crackdown. Western diplomats and analysts in Riyadh say recruiting for Iraq appears to be easier than for cells waging attacks within Saudi Arabia. Saudi radicals have long been divided over whether attacks on government symbols are justified, but all agree that waging a jihad, or holy war, against the US is sanctioned. Last year, a group of prominent clerics opposed to violence in Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that was interpreted as a blessing for joining the Iraqi insurgency. Though they may not form the largest part of the foreign contingent in Iraq, Saudis are an attractivetarget for recruiters: according to the CSIS report,Saudis entering Iraq often bring along personal funds ranging between $10,000and $15,000. Arab militants' role in the insurgency is causing alarm across the Arab world and bringing back memories of the "Arab Afghans". In the 1980s, thousands of Arabs were sent by their own governments to join the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The effort, funded by the US, backfired in the next decade because the core of al-Qaeda emerged from this pool of hardened fighters. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |