[angelize56]

Clearly these government-backed Sheikhs, who ally themselves with slaves of the western world, should pay attention to their own advice, "fear God almighty and come to their senses".

A committee headed by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, has issued a fatwa condemning the recent attacks on western targets in the Kingdom, and instructing people to inform on those preparing further attacks.

The committee urged those plotting to attack western interests to "fear God almighty and come to their senses".

But Al..they have come to their senses....by the second quote!

[Al-Firdaus]

Originally Posted by angelize56

But Al..they have come to their senses....by the second quote!

Angel, if you knew what I know, you would find no humour in your response. But it's okay. All will be revealed in God's own good time. This, you and everyone else can assuredly count on.

[angelize56]

Al: Well we do differ as I'm not Islamic and my religion is Methodist. So of course our beliefs clash! That doesn't necessarily make either of our beliefs wrong...nor right. I read the book of Revelations...I listen...I learn...I too know what is coming. BUT I would not go murder innocent people who don't follow my beliefs nor would I use God as an excuse to do so. None of us can truly predict when the end is near...I hold onto my beliefs in the God of my religion and know that my fate is in His hands....terrorists may kill me someday....but God decides my final fate...not a bunch of maniacal, low-life scum of the earth who see fit to kill innocent people! But as you said "it's okay. All will be revealed in God's own good time. This, you and everyone else can assuredly count on". Take care. angel

[angelize56]

UPDATE:

Al-Qaida Claims To Have Kidnapped American
American Taken As Hostage In Kingdom

POSTED: 10:47 am EDT June 13, 2004
UPDATED: 3:49 pm EDT June 13, 2004

WASHINGTON -- With the kidnapping of an American and threats to inflict on him the same degrading punishments seen at Iraq's U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison, suspected al-Qaida terrorists appear to have unleashed a new tactic in their violent drive against Saudi Arabia's rulers.

Saudi authorities searched Sunday for Paul M. Johnson, an American who was apparently abducted by militants who also claimed responsibility for gunning down another American in Riyadh, the day before.

It was the third killing of a Westerner in the Saudi capital in a week, part of a stepped up campaign aimed at driving out foreigners and sabotaging the oil sector, key to the Saudi economy and basis of the rule by the kingdom's royal family.

The U.S. Embassy warned that the attacks appeared to follow extensive surveillance of the two Americans slain over the past week. Kenneth Scroggs was shot in the back as he parked in the garage at his home on Saturday. Last Tuesday, Robert Jacobs was also killed in his parking garage.

The killings "involved extensive planning and preparation," a U.S. Embassy warden message said. "Often, this pre-attack surveillance can be detected."

Al-Qaida, led by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, often rails against Saudi Arabia's rulers for their close links to the United States.

"The Saudis know that this is an enemy that is coming after them. The killing of foreigners ... is a direct attack against the Saudi regime," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on ABC's "This Week."

Powell said Saudi leaders are mobilizing all resources against militants but added, "I think that there is more that they can do."

The Saudis can "build up their forces" and cut off funding for militants, he said on "Fox News Sunday." "There's probably more we can do with respect to intelligence exchange, and we are working at all of these," he said.

Prince Bandar, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, called the attacks on Americans "craven acts of evil."

"Their intention is to shake our will, to frighten away our friends and allies, and to undermine our society," Bandar said.

None of the gunmen have been caught in this week's fatal shootings of the two Americans and, on June 6, Irish cameraman Simon Cumbers.

Saudi security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police stormed a suburban Riyadh house Sunday morning, arresting a man inside and confiscating a computer. It wasn't clear whether he was linked to any of the past week's shootings.

The purported al-Qaida statement, posted late Saturday on an Islamic Web site, threatened to treat Johnson, the abducted American, as U.S. troops treated Iraqi prisoners - a reference to sexual and other abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

It showed Johnson's passport and a Lockheed Martin business card bearing his name. The passport said Johnson was born in New Jersey. His son Paul Johnson III said his father moved to the kingdom in 1983 to work for Lockheed Martin.

The al-Qaida statement said Johnson is one of four experts in Saudi Arabia working on developing Apache attack helicopter systems.

"Everybody knows that these helicopters are used by the Americans, their Zionist allies and the apostates to kill Muslims, terrorizing them and displacing them in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq," said the statement. It said al-Qaida would release a videotape later with Johnson's confessions and its demands.

A car belonging to Johnson was found Saturday near Imam University, security officials said. Saudi press reports said the car was booby-trapped and later caught fire. The university is about 12 miles from the neighborhood where Scroggs was shot.

Lockheed Martin issued a statement confirmed that Johnson was missing. The U.S. Embassy said it was working with Saudi officials to find the kidnapped American.

Paul Johnson III, of Cocao, Fla., asked the kidnappers to let his father go.

"He doesn't deserve it. It's not his fault he's over there. It's his job," he said on NBC News.

He said his father had been nervous about being in Saudi Arabia. "My dad's probably praying, wondering how he got himself into this and how he can get himself out," he said.

The militant attacks against Westerners, government targets and economic interests in the kingdom have surged despite a high-profile campaign against terrorists the government began after suicide bombings last year.

Terror experts have noted that the militants are using several tactics -- including shootings and ambushes where the gunmen do not die -- rather than limiting themselves to suicide bombings or swift attacks under the cover of darkness.

The statement claiming Saturday's shooting and kidnapping was signed by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the same group that claimed responsibility for a May 29-30 shooting spree and hostage-taking in the eastern Saudi oil hub of Khobar that killed 22 people, most foreigners.

Saudi security arrested one attacker in Khobar, but three others escaped.

Saudi Arabia relies heavily on a foreign work force. An estimated 8.8 million foreigners work among 17 million Saudis in the kingdom, some in the oil sector, banking and other high-level businesses, but the majority in service-industry jobs such as maids, bell boys or taxi drivers.

The U.S. Embassy had already advised Americans to leave the kingdom, and the British Embassy on Sunday said it was authorizing the voluntary departure of nonessential staff and their families.

Meanwhile, several Islamic Web sites were carrying links to a videotape -- also purportedly from al-Qaida -- that claims to show last Tuesday's killing of Jacobs, 62, of Murphysboro, Ill., who worked for U.S. defense contractor Vinnell Corp.

The video, less than two minutes long, does not show any faces. It begins with men running in a garage and a voice yelling in English, "No, no, please!" A shot is fired, and the body of what appears to be a Western man falls to the ground. Two gunmen fire at least 10 more shots at the fallen man, then one kneels by his head and motions as if he is beheading him. If they did I hope he was dead first!

[plschwartz]

"The statement also said Johnson is one of four experts in Saudi Arabia working on developing Apache helicopter systems and that the American killed worked in the same industry."http://www.express.co.uk/story.html?story=7&r=10871778285798620
I have read other places that he was actually helping to adapt the Apache for use in Saudi Arabian, presumably against terrorists.

From their point isn't a foreign national helping their enemy? Doesn't that thus make him fall under exactly the Gitmo guidelines.
I do not condone what AQ does but see how quickly what we have done can come back at us. I do not think they did this only because of Gitmo. But in the Arab street see how much more defensable it has become?

[plschwartz]

The Washington post must be reading my mail



washingtonpost.com
Saudi Victims Had Military Link
3 Americans Kidnapped or Killed Were Singled Out as Contractors, Officials Say

By Craig Whitlock and Renae Merle
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, June 14, 2004; Page A12


LONDON, June 13 -- The three Americans killed or kidnapped by Islamic radicals in Saudi Arabia in the past week were likely selected as targets many days or weeks in advance and singled out because of their work as military contractors, U.S. and Saudi officials said Sunday.

Authorities continued to search for the kidnapped American, Paul M. Johnson Jr., 55, an employee of Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp., whose family reported Saturday that he had vanished in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

A group calling itself Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula issued a statement Saturday saying it had captured Johnson and would treat him in the same way that U.S. troops treated Iraqi detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

Although Johnson was employed by Lockheed Martin, the telephone number on his business card indicated that he worked at the Riyadh headquarters of Advanced Electronics Co., a Saudi technology firm that manages a number of defense contracts for the Saudi government.

Advanced Electronics was the employer of Kenneth Scroggs, another American, who was gunned down by three assailants as he pulled into the garage of his Riyadh home Saturday afternoon, Saudi officials said.

A third American was fatally shot in his Riyadh home on Tuesday after leaving the Riyadh office of Vinnell Corp., a Fairfax-based subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Inc. Robert Jacobs, 62, worked for Vinnell on a project to train the Saudi National Guard. Seven Vinnell personnel were killed in May 2003 in a suicide bombing of a residential compound for Westerners in Riyadh.

On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh warned Americans in the kingdom to pay close attention to their surroundings and to avoid predictable workday routines that could make them easy targets. The embassy statement said last week's attacks on Americans "appear to have involved extensive planning and preparation and were likely preceded by extensive pre-attack surveillance."

In its statement Saturday, the al Qaeda-affiliated group said Johnson was one of four experts in Saudi Arabia on the Apache attack helicopters used by the U.S. military elsewhere in the Middle East. The statement indicated that Scroggs also advised the Saudi government on the use of Apaches.

Advanced Electronics, located in an industrial park near King Khalid International Airport outside Riyadh, was awarded a five-year, $10 million U.S. Army contract in 1999 for repair work on Apache systems. The program was scheduled to expire in March, according to a contract announcement issued at the time.

It was unclear whether Scroggs had been involved in Apache work.

Executives at the firm declined to be interviewed Sunday, but released a statement confirming that a U.S. employee had been killed "at the door of his house" in Riyadh on Saturday. The firm did not identify Scroggs by name, but called him "a very serious and sincere employee of the company for over 12 years."

In a statement to its own employees, Lockheed Martin said that Johnson had worked in Saudi Arabia on the Apache program, specializing in a targeting system known as Target Acquisition and Designation Sites/Pilot Night Vision System. Known as the "eyes of the Apache," it enables the helicopter's pilots to fly at low altitudes in the dark and in bad weather.

Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's largest contractor, began evacuating its employees' dependents from Saudi Arabia in mid-April after the State Department issued a strongly worded warning urging Americans to leave the country.

The company declined to disclose how many of its employees were stationed in Saudi Arabia or what security measures were being provided to them. "As courageous and brave as they are, they go over there as volunteers," said Tom Jurkowsky, a Lockheed spokesman. "Security is paramount, we're aware of the warnings, the intelligence provided by the embassy. We take necessary precautions."

Lockheed also declined to comment on its work in the kingdom, citing security concerns. Lockheed manages international aircraft depots in Saudi Arabia, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Advanced Electronics has a contract with Lockheed to provide electronics for the F-16 fighter jet, according to Advanced Electronics' Web site.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said he was satisfied with the Saudi government's efforts to investigate the recent attacks and to prevent future bloodshed. "The Saudis know that this is an enemy that is coming after them," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "The killing of foreigners, whether they're Americans or Brits, or what are they, is a direct attack against the Saudi regime."

Mohsen Awajy, a Saudi lawyer and former Islamic radical who now advises the government on dealing with militants, said al Qaeda cells were targeting individual Westerners involved with the military in a bid to regain popular sympathy in Saudi Arabia. He said many Saudis were appalled by recent al Qaeda bombings that resulted in the deaths of Muslims and of expatriates who were seen as important cogs in the country's economy.

"The militants are trying to show some justification for what they're doing," he said. "They are also trying to choose the easiest targets because they are finding it harder and harder to do anything on a bigger scale."

The recent attacks are evidence that for contractors, "the risks are much higher than people anticipated," said Peter Singer, foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Basically, if companies are going to keep people in Saudi, they are going to have to provide better security guarantees. The pay is going to have to reflect the higher danger."

On Sunday, Lockheed's main Web page was dedicated to the kidnapping. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul M. Johnson, Jr. and his family," the Web site said.

Whitlock reported from London, Merle from Washington.



© 2004 The Washington Post Company

[Al-Firdaus]

Commander Of Al-Quds Gives First Hand Account Of The Khubar Operation
Jun 15, 2004 Source: PIR

The Jihad Voice Magazine: At the beginning, we welcome our brother Fawwaaz; please give us a brief of your preparation for this operation?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: In the name of ALLAH, and peace upon his prophet Mohammad, ALLAH welcome you. Regarding the Khubar Battle or the Khubar Operation, the decision was that it's going to be a Martyrdom Operation, no way back. The brothers, I ask ALLAH to secure and keep those who left and accept who has been killed, they were putting in mind that they will fight until they die, and achieve the meaning of how to dip unprotected into the enemy, because of the strength of the targets as well as the guarding on it. In fact the entire site is (military) settlements, looks as you are in a Western state, the heavy arsenal, Hummer vehicles and check points were every 200m between each, and you found weapons and armed soldiers.

Days before, the brothers met and put the plan, after Fajr prayer the brothers were preparing things, (The Final Review). Our brother Abu Haajir (Abdul-Azeez Al-Mugrin Al-Qaida leader in Arabia) assigned me to be in charge of the group, I'm not worthy of command, but I consider it as a test from ALLAH. I met with the brothers and explained the targets, the plan, and show them the targets, for the second time we explore and memorize the way to the sites. The day of operation, we finalized the dividing of roles, I was the car driver and our brother Nimr Albogomi (martyred, may ALLAH accept him) is beside me and our brother Hussein behind me and our fourth brother Naadir is behind Nimr, the car is a Maxima. On the night of the operation I parked the car and put the explosives in it, because the third site (a housing compound) was the most strictly secured compound in all the Eastern Province, which was only 500m away from the palace of Muhammad bin Fahd (The governor of the Eastern Region and son of king Fahd). It's well known that compound is one of the largest prostitution and debauchery pasturage. The compound is big and full of villas. The compound is called "Alsaani' Compound". The truth is that it is belong to Muhammad bin Fahd, Alsaani's ownership is only a cover. Our plan says that after we were through with the first two sites, (The two Oil Companies); we proceed to the residential compound. If the emergency forces were gathered, the decision is to drive into them and explode the car in order to open a path for the brothers.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: What is the size of these compounds?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: During my lifetime, I have never seen like these compounds, it is located in the golden belt area: rich area and full of palaces, the Eastern Province governor is living there, we were able to see the marines walk out of it with there uniforms, the compound is approximately 3km by 3km and a number of gates, it is a huge area.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: What about the companies?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: The first Company is Arabian Petroleum Investments Company It is one of the American Halliburton subsidiaries, it has a role in Iraq, and the truth is, it is one of the largest international companies.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: How things started?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: We went out of the house at 05:45am. Near the site we changed our cloths, and we put on our Ji'aab (ammunition bags?!) and weapons. We asked ALLAH's help to ease our mission, the Company's building has two gates, we went to the first one, our brother Nimr and all the others went out of the car, and they asked the guard to open the gate, there was a person behind the gate and the fence, and two of the security personnel were outside and one inside, the one who can open the gate, the brothers asked him to open the gate, but he refused, then the brothers decided to break into but he has hidden himself behind the counter. We were in a hurry to get through with this Company so we can continue to the other Company, then we went to the other gate and we break into it and we dealt with it's guards, as soon as we entered the area we spotted the British guy (Company's Investments Manager), ALLAH sent him to his end, his mobile is shown on TV, as it was seen on the front seat (of his car) covered with blood, and we left him (his body) in the street. We went out and we tied one leg of the ('Ilj) (‘Ilj = fat red-coloured Kaafir, a derogatory term), got into the car and drove out to face the police, the first one to drive toward us was a police patrol jeep. We killed the driver and we engaged with the others (police personnel) until we broke through their lines, all of them. Thanks to ALLAH we memorized more than access road to the second site. So when the police closed the first road, so that there was no way to go back through the same access, then we went through the other route (coast road then Khubar road – Dammaam high way) about 4km, the cloths of the ('Ilj) were ripped and he became naked, the street was full of people – it is working time – everyone has seen the dragging of the ('Ilj).

When we reached one of the fly-overs, we faced an ambush of the tyrants' dogs (derogatory term for the Saudi Police), the guards of the Americans, we engaged and clashed with them, during our advance in the middle of the bridge, the rope, with which we tied the ('Ilj), broke, so the body of the ('Ilj) drop down to fall in between the four traffic lights to bee seen by every one there. The brothers have clashed with the police patrols while they are saying " ALLAH-u-Akbar – La Elaha Ella ALLAH", because of ALLAH's Grace, we overwhelmed and broke through the ambush. We resumed our mission to proceed to the other Company: Petroleum Centre (the same style, a Companies compound), we arrived at the gate. The brothers felt a wonderful tranquillity and calmness, we thank ALLAH for it, we came out of the car, and the brothers were walking as if they are in a picnic or walking leisurely in park!! We entered finding young men of the Arabian Peninsula wearing Aramco's uniforms. They were wondering and asking what the matter is, and what is happening?! We were telling them to be calm and not to be afraid because we do not want you, we want the Americans. All four of us entered together, we met the Arab employees, saying hallo to all of them, and asking them where is the Americans? All the employees and all the others we met were strongly amazed and wondering, saying: What is the matter?! Who are you?! We responded: (We are Mujahideen wanting the Americans, we did not come her to point our weapons towards Muslims but we came to cleanup the Arabian peninsula off the faithless and polytheists who are killing our brothers in Afghanistan and Iraq, in accordance with the behest of Prophet Mohammad peace upon him, and we want you to guide us to them).

We went up stair, the building contain several companies, there was several doors, every time we open a door we found a big lounge contain a many offices and the main office behind a glass partition, we enter one of the companies and we found an American ('Ilj), who seems to be a director of one of the companies, I enter the office, I called him.. When he looked at me, I shoot him with one bullet exploding his brain. We went into another office and also we found a South African ('Ilj), Hussein killed him with his knife. We went down the building and at the gate we found our brother Nimr, the hero, guarding us at the gate; he was drinking water as if he were in a picnic, because he was too brave, merciful on his soul. We went out and get in the car, we found forces rushing to defend the Americans, some of them seem to be from the U.S. Marines, we clashed with them, and this is the third tome we engaged them. An amazing cowardice was evident from there acts: they kept too far away, when we advance towards them, they retreat back further far away.

We went toward the third site – the most guarded one, the plan was to keep in the car until we become side to side with the American's Hummer car. The moment we were close by it, all the brothers started saying ALLAH Akkbar and start shooting at them, I saw the soldier who was standing behind the machine gun, saw his scull exploding, and thanks ALLAH. I think that the driver was killed too. The plan was to enter through the exit door, and when we enter to explode the car at them so that the brothers could keep on proceeding. At our arrival we passed the Hummers, engaged with them and defeated them. Near one of the gates ALLAH drove to us one of the security guards (we saw him in the street) we ordered him to open the gate, so we were not in need to explode the car.

Brother Nimr was loping while walking into the compound and we drove through the main street inside the compound (the compound is very big, it measures by kilometres and it contains several sub-compounds), then we went on to one of the tall buildings. Brother Nimr, Mercy on his soul, he pushed the door very hard until it opened, we entered facing a lot of people, we were asking them about their religion and identifications, we took this chance to call for Islam and to tell them about our target, and we talked with many of them, during this time we spot a Swedish ('Ilj), brother Nimr cut his head and place it (the head) at the gate so everyone can see it!! We continue looking for the ('Ilj)s and when we found one of them we cut his throat. During this time, we hear the sirens of the police patrols and the other forces amassed outside, but the cowards were not brave enough to storm in or clash with us. About 45 minutes to one hour have passed since the operation started, we continued combing the site looking for ('Ilj)s, we found a Philippino Christians, killed them, and dedicated them to our brothers the Mujahideen in Philippine, and we found Hindu Engineers, we slit their throats too. Thanks to ALLAH that we clean the land of Prophet Muhammad, peace upon him, from a number of Christian and polytheists that day.

After that we went toward the hotel, we enter and found a restaurant, so we ate breakfast and rested for a while, then we went up to the first floor and found some Hindu dogs which we slaughtered. I ordered the brothers: put the bodies in the stairs, so when the idols' soldiers (another derogatory term for the Saudi Police) attempt to attack us, they will see the bodies and get terrified. It seems that I was too optimistic; because no one of these cowards entered the building until we left. We take the chance to hold a Koran reading circle for the remaining Muslims, and we taught them how to read the Fatiha perfectly, and they seem to be too amazed about us saying: How could you do that (teaching Koran) in this current flammable situation??!! Thanks to ALLAH Who enabled us to do so. The Muslim Indians informed us that their Manager is a malicious Hindu and he does not let them perform their regular prayer, and he will be coming in a while, when he came, we made sure, from his identifications, that his religion is Hindu, then we kept him with us for a while. I called the Aljazeera News TV, and they made an interview with us, but they did not dare transmit it. I informed them that I am talking to them from inside the compound, and that we target only the Infidels. I went to one of the rooms to watch the TV news, and I saw the mission news covered by some stations. About 5 hours have passed since the operation started; the announced news was that the Emergency Forces started now to storm the compound! I assigned each of the brothers in a certain place of the hotel, to be ready to counter any attack on us by the Government dogs (another derogatory term for the Saudi Police).

At 2 O’clock they finally attacked led by an officer, we could see them well from our positions, we throw grenades at them. The Officer was killed and the soldiers wounded, thanks ALLAH. They were yelling at their brothers in the rear line saying ..." we want to go out ", "By ALLAH: get us out ... get us out ". We were shouting: "ALLAH Akbar" and shouting: "ALLAH is our Ally and no Ally for you, to hell-fire and bad destiny”. Nimr, mercy on him, was yelling to some one of them: (Come closer coward, come!!), while the other is running away from him!! They started heavy shooting at the hotel until the Asr Prayer time (after 15.00 h); during this time we killed this Hindu dog, who did not allow the Muslim employees to perform their regular prayers. We guided all the Muslims to the higher floors to protect them from the aimless bullets of the Emergency Forces. We stayed down there waiting for those cowards, during this time, brother Hussein was in the stairways when he so the Italian ('Ilj), he pointed his weapon at him and ordered him to come closure, the ('Ilj) came closure, we checked his identifications, so, we decided that he call the Aljazeera News TV Channel, so that he may send a massage to his people to warn them from fighting against Islam and the people of Islam, and then kill him and dedicate him to the Italians fighting our brothers in Iraq and to the foolish president of Italy, who is seeking a confrontation with the lions of Islam. We called the Aljazeera news TV Channel (again), I said to the news presenter to talk to him, they started talking, the news presenter was asking me does the Italian speech English?! I said to him, do you have an Italian translators? He said: yes, I said: (Then let him speech by his language), he then talked for a few minutes, and I asked the news presenter, did you record it? He said: yes, then the Italian has been killed by the hero Nimr.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: We ask ALLAH, to accept this "sacrifice", what happen after that?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: During this time, we were alert and cautious, one of the brothers, suggested that we have to attack these coward, time is running, so, we all agreed, then all of us asked ALLAH to guide us to the right decision, and after the sunset prayer, we asked ALLAH again, and after Eshaa prayer, we asked ALLAH for the third time. At that time, we were wonderfully feeling deeply relaxed and sleepy, and the most wonderful, since the morning we were feeling sleepy, so, we remembered ALLAH's saying about a similar situation in the battle of Badr: {When He made the slumber fall upon you as a reassurance from him and sent down water from the sky upon you, that thereby He might purify you, and remove from you the fear of Satan, and make strong your hearts and firm (your) feet thereby}, (Al-Anfaal [Spoils of War]; 8:11)

After Esha prayer, we went out after 9pm, exploring the situation to move out, we went out from the last place the enemy expect, ALLAH blinded their eyes of us, we climbed one of the man-made water falls, which overlooks the main road, the distance from top to ground was too high, 13m, big trees all around these water fall, there were big trees and 5m behind it, there are the concrete barriers surrounding the compound. Brother Hussein, after fixing the Kalashnikov on his back and tightening his belt, and after he throw the ammunition bag ahead of him saying: (By the name of ALLAH) and jumped, when he dropped on the floor and stayed motionless for a few moments. One of the brothers thought that he died. But due to ALLAH's kindness the floor was wet and watered due to the water fall, Hussein was not injured, we did not believe our eyes, we called him and he answered saying that he is safe and healthy. Now we came to know that this is a special dignity (Karamah = miraculous events benefiting believers) from ALLAH to us, the distance is too long. Thanks ALLAH for this Karamah. After that brother Naadir jumped, I follow then the brother Nimr, mercy on him.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: ALLAH-u-Akbar. Thanks to this great blessing and Karamah, you are now in the street?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: Yes, we are now in the street and the trees block their vision to see us, all the gathered forces outside were thinking that we are still in the hotel, the time was 10:30pm, and we were too tiered and feeling sleepy, then we decided to have a rest before we attack them-only some meters is the distance between them and our place, but thank to ALLAH, he directed their attention to the hotel and providing us with this big number of trees to be as a cover, they were never thinking even 1%, that we will jump from this high fence, all brothers went to sleep for one hour while I guard them, all the brothers were sure that they will be killed, but we preferred to fight wile we are restful, so, I went to sleep, thanks ALLAH, it was tranquil and one of the best rests I ever enjoyed in my life. After that we decided to attack, so, we gathered and strongly we asked ALLAH to help us with support from him and troops of his own. The plan was to appear all four of us at the same time and to stop the first military car we happen to meet. Nimr and Hussein will go to kill who is in it of the dogs of the American, while I go to the Hummer to engage with him and divert his attention, and brother Naadir will carry the remaining ammunition because it will slow our fast movement and to load it in the car. Then if we take the car we will go toward the security rings and engage them.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: How many you estimate the number of the soldiers?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: In fact, there were a huge number of armed forces, we wanted to get the car because of the security rings, they were too large, extending by kilometres, and to get through it and we must have a car to carry us with our weapons. As soon as we appear, the soldiers looked at us with horrification as if we were ghosts. Nimr was the fastest to reach them, he ran too fast while he is saying: "ALLAH Akkbar" and firing, then we clashed with them, and we defeated them by grace, munificence and clemency of ALLAH. The soldiers around the compound were shooting, and I do not know where are they aiming at, maybe for some of them it is his first time to try a weapon!!

We destroyed two jeeps car and killed who were in it, and I killed the driver of a third jeep which caused the car to roll-over a number of times. Now we are in the middle of the street and we did not find a car to get in yet. We intended to enter into one of the nearest streets, Nimr went too fast and took a very difficult fighting poison and clashed with the Hummer, I saw the Tracer bullets which he has been shooting from his weapon starting a fire when it hit the soldier on the machine gun. We crossed the street, while the bullets were like the rain on us, and we were shooting back, it was a miracle from ALLAH and a wonderful honour from Him, we were seeing the bullets between our feet and around us, no one hurt, thanks to ALLAH. We entered the intended district, and we were able to get out of that ring, so, thanks ALLAH, and those stupid idiots were still shooting!! We got into one of the cars, and then we start our way out. by ALLAH, I am still wondering of what happened: for about one and half or tow km, we were passing tens of armoured vehicles, patrols and soldier carriers, we were clashing with all of them, and we pass through middle of all of them, through the middle of the street that they were stationed in, sometimes with only1m distance between us and the their car!!

They blocked the street, but ALLAH ease our way out, we were fighting strongly to hurt them and to be a martyrs, but it was true when Abu Bakr said: (Seek death, you get life!) These cowards were too terrified of the tracer bullets, we were shooting at them by the machine guns and we were throwing at them grenades manufactured by our brothers. We were saying: (ALLAH Akbar and La Elaha Ella ALLAH), and we achieved a great victory. We broke the first ring, the second and the third. In the third ring, the hero Nimr, mercy on him, his body was out of the driving car enabling him to shoot, a bullet hit him in the middle of his chest, however, he continue to shoot, so, we passed the forth and fifth of the rings while Nimr was massively bleeding, he kept on shooting, and we pass the sixth ring, at this time Nimr fell down inside the car and he raised his pointing finger. We were shaking and moving him until we were certain that he has been killed, may ALLAH elevate up his rank in heaven.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: But one of the Salouli's (Salouli is derogatory term used instead of “Saudi”) newspapers published a different story, Saying that he is injured and one of the soldiers came and saved him?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: This is not the first of their lies, I was in the hotel and see their lies on TV, and the bankruptcy of their press business, When we break through the sixth ring and reached the highway, we were not believing that we are out of all these rings of security and military forces, and now we are confident that it was the help of ALLAH, we drove nearly for 10 km, we stile want to make sure about our brother Nimr, but we are sure that he died, so, we asked ALLAH to accept him as a martyr who dipped in the enemy. We found a pick-up car belong to the National Guard, we took it, brother Naadir was in the back of the car (cargo area) with his weapon ready for engagement, if any. While we are in the road, we saw the patrols in the other side of the highway going toward the site, we pass through them and they were thinking that we are their friends (ALLAH forbid us from being their friends), ALLAH blinded them from seeing us, in spite of the fact that Naadir was in the car box carrying his weapon, but truly ALLAH said: {And We have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and (thus) have covered them so that they see not}, (Yaseen; 36:9). We entered the city with the help of ALLAH, all what we passed through was like a dream, because of what we saw of ALLAH's Generosity and His support, so, plenty of thanks to ALLAH, when we went out, we called our brothers and met them, so, we thank ALLAH for this great victory.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: What was the time when you left the compound?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: A little before the call of Fajr prayer, the strange is when I went back to the brothers, I saw the Salouli's failure forces through their more failure TV Channels, while they show some shots of their attack on the roof of the hotel in day light!! Hours after we left, during their attack, we were not at all in the area!!

The Jihad Voice Magazine: Thanks ALLAH to this victory, can you tell us about the miracles that ALLAH's generosity gave you?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: By ALLAH, O brother: The most important one is the calmness that stabilized our hearts, you could swear to ALLAH that we were in a picnic, not in a boiling horror area, imagine that we were feeling slumber since the beginning of the operation, thanks ALLAH. Then ALLAH's grace supported us with this victory against the thousands. We used to read the stories of the Prophet followers and we find like these miracles. Thanks to ALLAH, it was a great experience to pass through such situation.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: One of the foolishness of the Saloulis’ press is that when they published some of the Arabs testimonies in the compound, they didn't twist it in a big way as usual. The whole world heard that you were not against the Muslims nor touched them with any harm. Tell us about whom you met of the Arab and Muslims, and how they felt about the situation?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: Thanks ALLAH, in fact, this operation was a great victory from ALLAH, tens of people new the Mujahideen demands and they saw it by their own eyes, many of them were asking ALLAH to let us win, some of the Indian and Pakistani Muslims were saying with us: "ALLAH Akbar ", and when we told them the name of our brigade (Al-Quds Brigade) they said: we want to go with you to Al-Quds!! We also made a Qur’aan circle for some of them when we were at the hotel, and when we meet an Arab or a Muslim wearing like the faithless or if he didn't look like a Muslim, we advice him to keep away from these compounds that the ('Ilj)s are living in, and also we advice them to adhere the Muslims style, so, no body will be compelled to ask them: are you Muslims or not? We found an Iraqi Muslim carrying the American nationality and he was terrified of us, so, we informed him that we didn't come to kill Muslims.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: What is the story of the Egyptian child they claim that you killed him?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: When we went out of the first company, there was a parked car – the one in which they claim the Egyptian child was killed – we came to the car and we found a man from the Arab Peninsula (as they say: a Saudi) he opened the door and runaway, we didn't see anybody in the car. May be the child - if he was there as they claim – was hidden under the seats. When we moved on, the patrols came and when they saw the body of their colleague, they thought that this car (the one they claim that the child was in), was our car. So, they rained a fire of bullets on it and they killed the Child, mercy on him. When I arrived to the brothers, I new that through their media they announced that we killed the child, this is not strange, their media is professionally a failure, and what can stop them to lying?

The Jihad Voice Magazine: Did you pass through uncommon situations?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: Yes, during our search for the ('Ilj)s, we passed some Muslims offices from the Arabian peninsula, their eyes were looking at us strangely, while we were speaking to them, saying: O brothers, don't be afraid, we don't kill Muslims, we want the red ('Ilj)s. Oh youngsters, how are you. We continued like this until they experienced no more fear, and some of them start laughing with us and guiding us to the places of the ('Ilj)s.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: How many were killed from the Emergency Forces and the Army?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: I'm sure that we killed a lot of those who defend the ('Ilj)s, the American and idols. What a bad and miserable choice for themselves to meet ALLAH being killed for the sake of Bush, Rumsfield and Nayef bin Abdelazeez!!

The Jihad Voice Magazine: Through the Salouli's media, they announced that you detained some hostages, and you went out while you use them as a shield, what is the truth of this?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: That is absolutely not the truth, what happened is what I mentioned previously, that we collected who remained from the Arabs and the Muslims and we asked them to go upstairs, so, they can't be shut by those killers who killed the Egyptian child, only because they were suspicious about the car, and we stayed downstairs in the building to engage with them when they attack. I laughed a lot about that Lebanese whom they show on TV as if he is one of the hostages. I consider this fabrication of the hostages’ story as a cover for their great failure to capture us or to protect the compound. So, when they stormed it appears as if they have freed the hostages. The fact is never there were hostages, for what we take hostages? we were wanting those cowards to attack and we want to die, when we waited for them more than enough, we attacked them as I reported before. They fell here clearly in a contradiction: Their media reproduced many reports about our good dealing with Arabs and Muslims inside the compound, never the less they say: we were using them as human shields!!

The Jihad Voice Magazine: What about the two brothers Abdurrahman and Abdulazeez Alghamdi (killed two days later in Tayif), mercy on them? The Salouli media claimed they were with you?!

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: First of all, I say: they admitted that we are only four, and I'm one of them and still alive, the second is Nimr and the third was Hussein (one of 26), and you (The Jihad Voice Magazine) publicised these facts before the death of the brothers in Tayif. It's well known that the two brothers Abdurrahman and Abdulazeez are not from the 26, and the fourth brother Naadir and not one the two Ghamedies. Now they are trying to cover up their great failure by any mean or allegation. If they would think rationally, they will know that even if it were true that they (Abdurrahman and Abdulazeez Alghamdi) were with us, it will be a scandal for them showing that they couldn’t catch them but in Tayif!! And how far is Tayif (in the far west of Arabia) from the East?!! Thanks ALLAH that they are confused, and all plotting has been reduced to whispers of lies. I beg ALLAH to accept our brothers in Tayif and let us follow them (in martyrdom) neither disgraced nor deviant.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: Was any one injured?

The Commander of Al-Quds Brigade: A very minor injury, Brother Hussein broke car’s front glass by his hand, so, he was injured, and all of us are otherwise in good health, thank ALLAH. We, I and the personnel of my brigade, pledge to ALLAH to participate in like of this operation again, by ALLAH’s Grace.

The Jihad Voice Magazine: Thanks ALLAH for your safety. We beg Him to write firmly your reward and to heal your chests as you healed our chests and the chests of the Muslims around the world (from the pain of anger). We beg ALLAH also to firm our feet and yours on the path of Jihaad until we meet him in His Pleasure.

Greetings, Peace and Blessings be on our Messenger Muhammad and His holy House and noble Companions.

[izme]

A little something for ya!

[angelize56]

Al Qaeda Moves to Targeted Attacks in Saudi Arabia
Mon Jun 14, 2004 01:35 PM ET
By Ghaida Ghantous

RIYADH (Reuters) - An Al Qaeda assassination campaign against foreign oil and military contractors in Saudi Arabia is a new tactic to further its aim of toppling the monarchy, analysts said.

A recent string of attacks on foreigners with links to the oil and defense industries in the world's biggest oil exporter were studied and pre-planned, they said.

In the past week, militants have stalked and shot dead two American military contractors outside their homes in the capital Riyadh and kidnapped a third, marking something of a departure from more opportunistic attacks in the kingdom in the past.

It followed last month's violence when militants killed 22 foreigners at oil offices and Western compounds in the eastern oil city of Khobar.

The assassination campaign comes after a string of bombings in the last year that have shaken tens of thousands of foreigners who form a vital workforce in the country.

For those monitoring al Qaeda statements on Islamist Web sites, the latest targets were no surprise.

Saudi Arabia's top al Qaeda leader, Abdelaziz al-Muqrin, has vowed to make 2004 "bloody and miserable" for the kingdom and declared plans for urban guerrilla war in the land where the movement wants to set up an Islamic Caliphate. Loser!

"They have started implementing Muqrin's directives... and I would not be surprised if they step up their efforts to kidnap or kill individuals working in the defense or oil sector to accelerate the exodus of foreigners," said Magnus Ranstorp, terrorism expert at St Andrew's University in Scotland.

"Those elements will try to escalate kidnappings as their priority," he added.

Saturday's kidnapping raised the stakes in al Qaeda's war on the Saudi royal family, which it deems "ungodly and subservient to America."

Even as diplomats and Saudi officials tried to identify the men killed in the last week, al Qaeda issued statements showing they knew who their targets were and what they did.

"These attacks show they (militants) have a strong information network to identify and stake out certain individuals," said a Saudi analyst who declined to be identified.
"They want to pressure the government and raise doubts about its control and also to speed up the departure of foreigners," he added. "The attacks are moving in a dangerous direction."

REVENGE

Al Qaeda said it was responsible for the attacks in the last week and was taking revenge for U.S. abuse of Muslim prisoners in Iraq and in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Had those two issues not been at the forefront these jerks would have found any excuse to serve their purpose!

The U.S. embassy, which has advised 35,000 Americans to leave the kingdom, said the attacks showed extensive planning and surveillance and urged U.S. citizens to keep a low profile and vary their schedules.

Britain has advised its nationals against non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia.

Fears about security in the kingdom were a factor in pushing oil prices to record highs this month before crude producers pledged to increase output.

"Militants are going for the jugular of the Saudi economy, they are aiming for the neck," said Khaled al-Maeena, editor-in-chief of Saudi daily Arab News.

Expatriates are concerned that the assaults are increasing in momentum and that militants are escaping unharmed from Saudi security forces.

All the militants in the latest violence are still at large, except for one who was wounded and captured in Khobar.

Saudi analysts said random military crackdowns would not halt the attacks and that the government better intelligence on militant activities.

"These groups are divided into small cells which are spread out. The only way to know when they are going to hit next is to penetrate them. You cannot guard the entire kingdom, so it is a matter of intelligence," Saudi analyst Khalid al-Dakheel told Reuters.

But one diplomat said anti-Western attacks were unlikely to abate any time soon.

"Militants are very persistent and serious... It is not a matter of days or weeks, we are looking at months or years," he said.

[angelize56]

BREAKING NEWS

Saudi Kidnappers Threaten to Kill Hostage
Tuesday, June 15, 2004

CAIRO, Egypt — An Islamic Web site showed videotape Tuesday of a blindfolded American hostage in Saudi Arabia, and said abductors threatened to kill him within 72 hours unless Saudi authorities free Al Qaeda prisoners.

Paul Johnson, 49, of Stafford Township, N.J., was abducted Saturday by a group calling itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The organization is believed to be headed by Al Qaeda's chief in the kingdom, Abdullah-aziz al-Moqrin.

A hooded man read a statement on the tape. As he was reading, a subtitle on the screen identified him as al-Moqrin.

His statement was similar to a printed message on the Web site that carried the name of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. It said the group gave Saudi authorities 72 hours to release "mujahadeen" militants or it would kill the hostage.

The tape showed Johnson sitting in a chair with his profile to the camera, a large tattoo on his left arm. It displayed his Lockheed Martin identification card. Johnson was employed by Lockheed Martin and worked on Apache helicopters.

Adel al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to the Saudi government, said shortly after the video appeared that the kingdom would consult with the Bush administration about how to proceed, but Riyadh like Washington has a strict no-negotiation policy.

The statement on the Web site says the holy warriors of the Arabian peninsula's Fallujah Brigade has "hit" the engineering team that "oversees the development of the American Apache helicopter that attacks Muslims in Palestine and Afghanistan."

It says: "The Fallujah Brigade has killed the director of this team and kidnapped one of its engineers, Paul Johnson, and if the tyrannical Saudi government wants their American master to be released, then they have to release our holy warriors that are held in Ha'ir, Ruweis and Alisha prisons within 72 hours of this statement's date."

The day Johnson was seized, Islamic militants shot dead another American, Kenneth Scroggs, from Laconia, N.H., in his garage. Scroggs was the third Westerner killed in a week, after the shooting death of an Irish cameraman for the British Broadcasting Corp. on June 6 and another American who was killed in his garage June 8.

Saudi security forces arrested a militant north of Riyadh on Tuesday as they stepped up their presence in and around the city in a hunt for Johnson's kidnappers.

Also Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's ruling crown prince warned Islamic militants that the kingdom planned shortly to deploy more security forces than they had ever faced before.

"Be assured that the kingdom has enough men whom you haven't seen so far, but within the coming few days you will see them," Crown Prince Abdullah told the militants, whose attacks have increased during the past three months. His remarks were televised.

Westerners in Saudi Arabia are responding to the attacks by moving to high-security compounds or even to Bahrain, and by pushing for the right to armed private guards, according to diplomats and real estate agents.

Western embassies in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, are negotiating with the government for a relaxation of the ban on private security guards carrying firearms, a Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity

[LANMaster]

Thanks for posting that, Mr. Paradise. It is good to know that important people in Saudi Arabia are condemning these brutal attacks.

[angelize56]

Who's Mr. Paradise???

[LANMaster]

Al Firdaus = Paradise City in Arabic, I think.

[angelize56]

Oh...I see!

[Al-Firdaus]

The Dynamics Of Saudi Militancy And Dissent
Jun 19, 2004
By Kareem M. Kamel, Originally Published By Islam Online

We remind our viewers that the statements, opinions and points of view expressed in this article are those of the author and shall not be deemed to mean that they are necessarily those of Jihad Unspun, the publisher, editor, writers, contributors or staff.

“They are clamping down not only on the jihadis but also on the reformists. If they [the Saudi royal family] don’t win the support of the middle class–the educated class in the country – there will be more and more people who will throw themselves into the arms of the jihadis. The royal family is losing control of the situation... They have no solution for this violence.”1 – May Yamani, Saudi Political Analyst.

On May 29, militants launched a successful attack on Saudi Arabia’s vital oil industry. The attack, the second in less than a month, was a further challenge to the regime’s efforts to crack down on Islamists, and illustrated the futility of the government’s iron-fisted security measures. In the first attack, six Westerners were killed on May 1 in the western oil city of Yanbu when the offices of the Houston-based ABB Lummus Global Inc. were targeted.2

In the Al-Khobar attack, several militants went on a shooting rampage at two oil industry office compounds before moving to the nearby upscale Oasis resort and taking hostages. Reports indicated that they were only after Westerners; many Oasis residents and employees said that the militants asked them if they were Muslim.3 The crisis ended after a 25-hour standoff with Saudi commandos in helicopters storming the expatriate resort to free the hostages. The exact details of what happened in the raid are unclear, but the final outcome of the Al-Khobar ordeal was the killing of 22 people, mostly foreigners.

The hostage crisis came at a critical time, with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) due to meet in Beirut to raise production quotas in an effort to push down prices. Despite expectations that oil prices would fall after the invasion of Iraq, they are currently hovering around US$40 a barrel – the highest since the 1991 Gulf War.4 Saudi Arabia, which accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s proven oil reserves, has been producing between 8 million and 9 million barrels a day, but has indicated that it is prepared to increase production substantially – two million barrels per day or more - in order to bring down prices.5

There is an environment of anxiety and apprehension in the global oil market, due to the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry and the multitude of attacks in Iraq against pipelines and oil exporting ports. Though the Saudi oil minister met with oil executives after the Al-Khobar attacks to assure them that oil supplies would not be affected, recent attacks in Saudi Arabia are likely to cause an exodus of foreign workers and their families from the kingdom. Some 30,000 Americans are believed to be resident in Saudi Arabia, mostly connected to the oil sector,6 and the US and Britain have repeatedly warned their nationals to leave Saudi Arabia because of the growing “terrorist threat.”

The Al-Khobar raid is the latest in a series of attacks aimed at Western targets and government symbols in the kingdom. In May 2003, suspected al-Qaeda militants launched triple suicide bomb attacks against compounds housing foreigners. Six months later, militants struck another residential compound, killing 17. In April 2004, Saudi authorities themselves became a target for several attacks, including a car bombing at the headquarters of the security forces, for which they immediately blamed al-Qaeda. Responsibility, however, was claimed by a shadowy network of al-Qaeda–inspired militants calling themselves the “al-Haramein Brigades,”7 in reference to Islam’s two Holy Mosques.

A closer look at the attacks reveals a pattern that cannot be dismissed as the wanton violence of a small number of misguided Muslim fanatics. Political and social tensions within the kingdom, coupled with the US occupation of Iraq, have provided fertile ground for an Islamist insurgency.

According to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, the US occupation of Iraq has swollen the ranks of al-Qaeda, with an estimated 18,000 “potential terrorists” available in 60 countries.8 Other studies indicate that the humiliation, despair and oppression that Muslims continue to endure in the Middle East has popularized “al-Qaedism” – not as a clear-cut organization, but as a militant anti-Western, anti-Zionist worldview – in the region.9 As a result, groups which share al-Qaeda’s ideology but may have little or no logistical or organizational links to Osama bin Laden have emerged.

In light of Saudi Arabia’s pivotal position in the Middle East—a position ensured by virtue of its religious significance and its geostrategic importance as the world’s primary oil producer—sustained attacks on foreigners, oil installations and symbols of regime authority are a complex and perilous predicament.

Saudi Arabia & the Politics of Islam – The Quest for Legitimacy

The fragility of the modern Arab state, its lack of institutions for popular participation and its authoritarian nature of government have made the quest for legitimacy one of the salient features of the regional order. Much of the Saudi state’s stability is derived from popular perceptions of the regime’s commitment to Islam, rather than from the elections and pluralism that grant legitimacy by Western standards. Even the most reform-minded technocrats, businessmen and members of the royal family incorporate Islamic values into their decision-making, speeches, laws and decrees - effectively into all aspects of Saudi public life.10

Since the founding of the modern Saudi state in 1932, Islam has remained a principle defining factor in the kingdom’s domestic and foreign policy orientation, and the cornerstone of the regime’s legitimacy. As such, the conservative royal family has always feared the challenge to its legitimacy and right to rule posed by other, more radical states or groups. Saudi Arabia countered the 60s’ wave of Baa’thist and Nasserist radical Arab nationalism by advocating pan-Islamism. In May 1962, a Saudi sponsored international Islamic conference in Mecca declared that “those who disavow Islam and distort its call under the guise of nationalism are actually the most bitter enemies of the Arabs whose glories are inseparable from the glories of Islam.”11 In 1965, King Faisal sought to ally Jordan, Malaysia, and Pakistan, to group them into a pan-Islamic coalition to counter radical nationalism.

But the most serious challenge to the Saudi regime came from other Muslim states or groups who questioned the Islamic credentials of the Saudi government and accused its officials of being “traitors” or agents for the enemies of Islam. For example, the armed seizure of the Grand Mosque in 1979 by a group led by Juhayman bin Saif al-Utaibi, a Saudi militant, was an attack on the “very geographic epicenter of Islam,” and hence challenged the regime’s claim to guardianship of Islam’s holy places.12

Additionally, demonstrations by Iranian pilgrims against the Saudi regime, coupled with Shiite spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini’s constant assertions that monarchy is incompatible with Islam, posed a serious challenge to the Islamic credentials of the Saudi regime throughout the 1980s. On July 31, 1987, violent clashes between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi security forces left over 400 killed, including 85 Saudi policemen. The use of lethal force by Saudi security forces during a Muslim holy month and the massive number of casualties inflicted on the demonstrators further delegitimized the Saudi government.

The current political situation in Saudi Arabia is highly volatile. No one can determine precisely the exact nature of the groups or individuals opposed to the regime, and the possible ideological differences between the groups are unclear. But contrary to the situation in most Arab states, there is no liberal, Marxist, or socialist opposition to the regime; all opposition in Saudi Arabia is entirely based on Islam. Some even note that the situation in Saudi Arabia is unique by virtue of the fact that the regime presides over a population in which the “vast majority of politically conscious adult citizens are more conservative than [the] conservative regime [already in power].”13

Evidently, it would be safe to say that there are three main dissenting Islamic trends in Saudi Arabia: intellectual non-violent criticism, spearheaded by prominent religious figures such as Sheikh Safar al-Hawali and Sheikh Salman al-Auda; non-violent political activism, represented by the Islamic Reform Movement (IRM), and; militant Islamist groups, represented by al-Qaeda and its affiliates.14 Despite significant operational differences, the dissidents are united by their resentment of the regime’s mismanagement of public funds, the squandering of oil money, lack of government accountability and increasing Western influence in the Middle East.

The seeds of modern-day militancy in Saudi Arabia were sown in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, when the royal family allowed US troops to be based in the kingdom. Bin Laden had at that time founded a welfare organization for Arab-Afghan veterans, and some 4,000 of them in had settled in Mecca and Medina alone. He unsuccessfully lobbied the Saudi royal family to organize a popular defense of the kingdom and raise a force of Afghan war veterans to fight Iraq. Instead, King Fahd invited the Americans in, and some 540,000 US troops began establishing themselves inside the Saudi Arabia.15 In response, Bin Laden began openly criticizing the royal family, lobbying the Saudi ulema or religious scholars to issue religious edicts prohibiting the presence of non-Muslim in the country.

In essence, the main goals of al-Qaeda and its affiliated militant groups inside the kingdom today are:

[T]o eliminate the US and Western presence from the region; to eradicate all forms of non-Islamic rule and apply the Islamic teachings to all aspects of life; to achieve true Islamic justice and eradicate all forms of injustice; to reform the political system and purify it from corruption and to “revive” a system to make it possible for citizens to bring charges against state officials. At the same time, al-Qaeda believes that all means to bring about an Islamic state are legitimate as long as they conform to Islamic teachings. Essentially, this viewpoint contends that violence is legitimate whenever deemed necessary.16

Oil, Oppression & Occupation

Despite massive oil wealth, the volatile mix of declining living standards and a repressive pro-Western feudal monarchy continues to foment unrest in Saudi Arabia – the West’s staunchest Arab ally. Mounting anti-Western hostility in the kingdom continues to intensify as a result of the continued US-led occupation of Iraq and the Saudi regime’s hypocritical stance on these issues.

Prior to the US invasion, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal insisted that his government would not allow US forces to use Saudi territory as a launching pad for an attack on Iraq. He further reiterated: “We are against any attack on Iraq because we believe it is not needed, especially now that Iraq is moving to implement United Nations resolutions… For the government of Iraq, the leadership of Iraq, any change that happens there has to come from the Iraqi people.”17 Contrary to the minister’s assertions, the Saudi government allowed US military operations to be led from at least three air bases inside the kingdom. It also permitted US Special Forces and thousands of ground troops to stage attacks from Saudi soil, even providing them with cheap fuel.18 The American air campaign against Iraq was essentially managed from inside Saudi borders, where US military commanders operated an air command center and launched refueling tankers, F-16 fighters, and sophisticated intelligence-gathering flights. The Saudi-American military connection during the invasion of Iraq undermined the credibility of the ruling regime in the eyes of its own people and made the Saudi government appear complicit in the occupation of an Arab state.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia’s role as a “swing producer” in the global oil market and its constant efforts to maintain the lowest possible oil prices make the ruling regime susceptible to accusations of being a “lackey” of Western imperialism, a claim made by Libya’s President Qaddafi in the 1970s, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in the 1980s, and many radical Islamist groups since the 1990s.

But it is not just anti-Western sentiment that breeds the violence witnessed in Saudi Arabia. There is also growing discontent at social and economic conditions in the kingdom – an enormously wealthy country with an equally enormous national debt, the presence of three million unemployed Saudis in an economy already dominated by expatriate workers, and the lack of representative institutions through which to voice discontents.19

Newspapers in Saudi Arabia are strictly controlled, and even the more respected ones published abroad tend to observe government limits or risk loss of advertising and freedom of circulation. More importantly, there are no political parties in the kingdom, and public protests are strictly forbidden. Last October, the government arrested 271 people in Riyadh, 83 of whom were told they would be put on trial, for demonstrating during a human-rights conference organized by the Saudi Arabian Red Crescent – a rare event in and of itself. A week later, likeminded protesters in Jeddah, Dammam and Hail were similarly dealt with.

On December 26, 2002, the Washington Post published a front-page story detailing the allegations of torture and inhumane treatment involving thousands of suspects apprehended since the September 11 attacks. Al-Qaeda captives held at overseas CIA interrogation centers - which are completely off-limits to reporters, lawyers, and outside agencies - are routinely beaten, tortured and deprived of sleep by US Army Special Forces before interrogation.20 The same article reported that approximately 100 suspects have been transferred to US allies for further interrogation, most notably to Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, whose brutal torture methods have been amply documented in the State Department’s own annual human rights reports.21

Amnesty International also expressed concern over the conditions of several prominent Saudi academics who have been detained since March 2004 simply for criticizing the government-appointed National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) and planning to set up a human rights organization of their own.22 Hundreds of suspected religious activists, clerics, critics of the government and protestors were arrested or detained in 2003 alone, and the legal status of prisoners held from previous years remains shrouded in secrecy.23 Critics of the regime in Saudi Arabia are often at risk of indefinite detention without charge or trial. In the rare cases where individuals are charged and brought to trial, defendants do not have the right to formal representation by a lawyer, and many trials are held behind closed doors.24

For decades, oil wealth allowed the royal family to ensure a reasonable living standard for most Saudis. But that same wealth has also been used for the creation of sophisticated and repressive security facilities and the augmentation of government-controlled civil institutions designed solely to further the aims of the regime.25 The ultimate aim of the Saudi government was to use oil to “depoliticize” the masses by buying their silence with higher standards of living. But given the recent population increase, declining oil revenues and declining per capita income (currently estimated at around $6,000 – one fifth of what it was in 1981),26 coupled with advancements in education and popular awareness, the country is on the verge of a major upheaval.

Additionally, the Saudi people are beginning to openly object to the ever-growing House of Saud’s increasing corruption and their monopoly on power.27 Estimates of the number of princes vary widely, between 5,000 and 10,000, with the extended family said to number between 20,000 and 27,000 – all receiving a slice of the kingdom’s vast oil wealth with absolute secrecy and no official scrutiny.28 In fact, princes and other members of the royal family are exempt from income taxes. Interestingly, during the past five years, the only two departments whose budgets have continued to increase are the royal household and the Ministry of Defense – the royal family and its protectors.29

Leading anti-terrorism experts point out that al-Qaeda enjoys far wider support across all levels of Saudi society than either the West or the royal authorities are prepared to acknowledge.30 Given the consequences of dissent in the kingdom, there are no accurate estimates of the popularity of al-Qaeda inside Saudi Arabia. However, Daryl Champion, an Australian writer on Saudi Arabia, suggests that Bin Laden “enjoys a semi-underground folk-hero status with many in the kingdom--and not just the 15,000 Saudi nationals who participated in the jihad in Afghanistan.”31 His admirers are said to be numerous on university campuses and among the growing numbers of the unemployed. Many radical clerics have expressed support for his aims, though the authorities have been vigorously cracking down on the more outspoken of them. This belies Prince Nayef’s assertion that there is no organized opposition to the regime, but only “small groups of misguided young people.”32

Conclusions

The draconian measures taken by the United States' regional allies to quell domestic opposition in the name of fighting “terrorism” have disillusioned Arab masses and widened the gap between regimes and citizens in the larger Muslim world.

While the US calls for Saudi religious and educational reform, it is hypocritically reluctant to actively work for political and economic openness in the country, out of fears of a Bin Laden-style government coming to power. As such, the situation in Saudi Arabia is likely to become more violent, complex and polarized.

Ultimately, the security-based approach currently employed by the Saudi government will fail in quelling domestic disturbances and preventing militant attacks. This is due to the fact that the regime’s Islamic credentials have now been openly challenged from the inside, and previously employed methods of co-optation are no longer sufficient in the face of ever-increasing popular demands for transparency, accountability and freedom from foreign intervention. Hence, the cumulative impact of various opposition groups inside the kingdom is likely to pose a continuing security threat to the Saudi regime for years to come.

Moreover, the atrocities being perpetrated by US and Israeli forces in Iraq and Palestine respectively will doubtless fuel increasingly popular Saudi perceptions that both occupations are part and parcel of a “Crusader-Zionist” plot against Islam and Muslims.

The continuing collaboration between the Saudi government and its American benefactors has worked to further undermine the Saudi regime and strengthen the legitimacy of those who see the presence of foreign “infidel” troops in Muslim lands as an affront to Islam. The Saudi regime can no longer guarantee compliance from its citizens while it blocks all non-violent attempts aimed at the inclusion of the masses in the political process. The ever-increasing socio-economic pressures and political stagnation faced by the average Saudi citizen are incompatible with today’s dynamic world, where the masses must shape their destinies free from foreign occupation or governmental oppression. The ongoing insurgency in Iraq and the Palestinian Intifada have demonstrated that popular resistance by sub-state groups can positively influence the political equation in the Middle East and impose its own dynamics in the ongoing confrontation with the West. As long as injustices in the Middle East remain ignored and the arrogance of military power has the final say, one man’s terrorist will remain another man’s freedom fighter.

Kareem M. Kamel is an Egyptian freelance writer based in Cairo, Egypt. He has an MA in International Relations and is specialized in security studies, decision- making, nuclear politics, Middle East politics and the politics of Islam. He is currently assistant to the Political Science Department at the American University in Cairo.

Footnotes

1] Paul Wood, “Concern Grows Over Saudi Stability,” BBC News May 13th, 2004

[2] “Saudi Arabia’s Hostage Standoff Ends,” MSNBC May 30th, 2004

[3] Ibid.

[4] “UK: Are Oil Price Fears Overblown?” Oxford Economic Forecasting UK Weekly Brief May 14th, 2004

[5] Tony Walker, “Saudi Attacks Pressures Oil Prices,” Australian Financial Review May 31st, 2004

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Saudis Blame al-Qaeda For Suicide Attacks,” CBC News April 22nd , 2004

[8] Richard Norton-Taylor, “Occupation has boosted al-Qaeda, says thinktank” The Guardian May 26th, 2004

[9] Jason Burke, “Al-Qaeda: Think Again,” Foreign Policy (May/June 2004)

[10] Anthony Cordesman, “Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century,” Center for Strategic and International Studies December 31st, 2002

[11] Bahgat Korany, “Defending the Faith Amid Change: The Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia,” in Bahgat Korany, et al. The Foreign Policies of Arab States : The Challenge of Change (Boulder : Westview Press, 1991)

[12] Richard H. Pfaff, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” in Tareq Y. Ismael and Jacqueline S. Ismael, Politics and Government in the Middle East and North Africa (Miami : Florida International University Press, 1991)

[13] Anthony Cordesman, “Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century,” Center for Strategic and International Studies December 31st, 2002

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: The Story of the Afghan Warlords (London : Pan Books, 2001)

[16] Anthony Cordesman, “Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century,” Center for Strategic and International Studies December 31st, 2002

[17] “Saudis Will Not Aide US War Effort,” Buzzle.com August 7th, 2002

[18] John Solomon, “US Got Secret Aid in Iraq War,” Washington Times April 27th, 2004

[19] “Kingdom Threatened By A Collision of Worlds,” The Guardian May 14th, 2003

[20] Eyal Press, “In Torture We Trust?” Nation March 31st, 2003

[21] Ibid.

[22] “Saudi Arabia : Fear of Torture or Ill-Treatment,” Amnesty International March 23rd, 2004

[23] “Saudi Arabia – Annual Report,” Amnesty International

[24] Ibid.

[25] Michael L. Ross, “Does Oil Hinder Democracy?” World Politics 53 (April 2001)

[26] Douglas Jehl, “Life in Saudi Arabia is Transformed by Hard Times,” New York Times March 20th, 1999

[27] Said K. Aburish, The Rise, Corruption, and Coming Fall of the House of Saud (St. Martin’s Press : New York, 1996) : 4

[28] “Adapt or Die,” Economist March 6th, 2004 : p.42

[29] Said K. Aburish, The Rise, Corruption, and Coming Fall of the House of Saud (St. Martin’s Press : New York, 1996) : 4

[30] “Al-Qaeda : The Next Phase,” Jane’s May 14th, 2003

[31] “Adapt or Die,” Economist March 6th, 2004 : p.42

[32] “Bin Laden Resurgent in Saudi Arabia?” Jane’s May 7th, 2003