Posted on 11/15/2003 3:27:48 PM PST by yonif
The United States reopened its diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, a week after they closed because of terrorist threats.
"We do believe that it is now safe to conduct public business," said the spokeswoman of the US Embassy in Riyadh, Carol Kalin. "We continue to monitor the situation and we will make announcements to the Americans as the developments warrant."
The embassy in Riyadh and the consulates in Jiddah and Dhahran closed Nov. 8, hours before suicide bombers attacked a Riyadh residential compound, killing at least 17 people and wounding 122.
On Saturday, an armored vehicle was parked in front of the embassy and no car was allowed to stop closer than 100 meters from the entrance.
Only a few people were going through the security checks to enter the embassy. One woman, Tess Quitoriano, 39, from the Philippines, came to get a visa to visit her mother who has had an operation in the United States.
"I'm delighted that the embassy is open. I've been waiting for nearly a week," she said.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Friday the decision to reopen the three missions followed a careful security assessment.
The US Embassy believes Americans in Saudi Arabia should still be prudent. A warden's message posted on the embassy's Web site says: "Given the uncertainty of the current security environment, the US [mission] continues to urge American citizens to remain vigilant, maintain a low profile and follow prudent security practices."
An American diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Friday that Americans should vary their times and routes for essential travel, park their vehicles in protected areas and check their cars before using them.
"American citizens should avoid places and areas where Westerners are seen to congregate," the diplomat added.
In last week's attack, gunmen fought their way into the compound of about 200 houses and blew up a vehicle. Most of the victims were Arabs and Muslims, among them Lebanese and Egyptian citizens. Five of the dead were children.
The attack left piles of rubble, hunks of twisted metal, broken glass and a large crater in the compound, which lies not far from the diplomatic quarter and the king's main palace.
US and Saudi authorities have accused the al-Qaida terror group, which is led by Osama bin Laden, of carrying out the attack. Saudi authorities have said the identities of the victims showed that al-Qaida was willing to kill fellow Arabs and Muslims in its zeal to bring down the US-linked Saudi monarchy.
"We will fight (the terrorists) with everything we have and we will crush them," the foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, Adel al-Jubeir, told reporters in Washington on Friday.
Did anyone ask the bastard - to define TERRORIST..
Semper Fi
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