From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Thu May 15 2003 - 17:02:46 MDT
Terrorism is no respecter of nationalities. At least two Finnish families
were also killed in the terrorist attack, ostensibly committed by al-Qaida,
in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. Thought you might be interested in the
local press reaction. This is a free, abridged translation (therefore not in
infringement of copyright) of the lead editorial in yesterday's "Turun
Sanomat" (Finland's third largest independent newspaper):
___________
U.S. President George W Bush has regarded the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's
regime in Iraq as a great step in the battle against terror. Now when
terrorists once again succeeded in surprising the Americans -- this time in
Saudi Arabia -- the question inevitably arises as to whether the latter are
off-course in their war against terrorism -- since hotly pursued weapons of
mass destruction have not been uncovered to any greater extent than true
evidence of contacts with the al-Qaida network.
The devastating events in Riyadh during the night between Monday and Tuesday
appear to be the work of al-Qaida. They are reminiscent of the bomb attacks
a few years ago in Kenya and Tanzania. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
has indicated the same.
The suicidal onslaught which occurred on the very threshold of Powell's
visit to the country acted as a ponderous fresh blow to the work of U.S.
intelligence personnel. American intelligence confirmed that "something" was
being planned against U.S. citizens residing in Saudi Arabia. A warning of
this was made at the beginning of May. Regardless of this, it was not
possible to guard against the actual attacks. The trucks, filled with
explosives, obtained surprisingly easy access to the foreign quarter.
The bomb offensive in Riyadh in fact showed, in an appalling manner, that
the real means to stop terror have not been found. Terrorists are still
quite capable of taking action and striking as they wish with deadly force.
With the increase in anti-Americanism in Saudi Arabia, the United States has
begun transferring its troops out of the country. Almost 5000 soldiers are
due to be removed by the end of the summer.
Nevertheless, tens of thousands of Americans and other foreigners will
remain in Saudi Arabia after the departure of military personnel. These live
in isolated residential neighborhoods in the western style -- which cannot
fail but irritate Saudi fundamentalists who observe a strict rendering of
Islam.
Bush has the same problem before him as Russian president Vladimir Putin has
in Chechnya: the fact is that raw military power does not appear to vanquish
terrorism. Both leaders would have good reason to consider much more deeply
the reasons behind the growth of terrorism.
Sender:
Paul W Harrison
--------------------
from reports i've seen, the problem wasn't lack of effort on the part of the
united states. the saudi government appears to have denied there being any
threat and dragged its feet in investigating potential terrorism.
at the same time it looks like al qaeda sympathizers inside the governement
may have been actively aiding the terrorists.
in this instance, i'd say that the terrorism is a direct attack on the saudi
economy. saudi arabia is dependent on foreign workers, particularly to run
the oil industry infrastructure. if all the foreigners are scared off, the
oil shuts down. if the oil shuts down, the goverment loses its source of
revenue and could fall. if we're lucky, this strategy will backfire like
it did in egypt.
Ben Avery
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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