Posted on 12/17/2003 1:37:22 PM PST by RoughDobermann
and families of American officials to leave Saudi Arabia...
Very true, and I don't contest that. Just seems odd that this advisory comes on the heels of Saudi Arabia's sudden swing to the Jihadist interpretation of stuffed animal toys and all that. That's all I'm saying.
Saudi Arabian International School to Close
Roger Harrison, Arab News Staff
Saudi Arabian International School, known as the American School in Jeddah, has been in existence for 52 years.
JEDDAH, 17 December 2003 — The Saudi Arabian International School (SAIS) is to close. Saudi Arabian Airlines, the school sponsor, has decided that the school is redundant and will cease to function at the end of the 2003/04 school year.
A fax sent by Saudia to the school, dated Oct. 12, said the airline’s human resources department had issued a circular stating that the school “will be closed by the end of the school year 2003/2004.” The school had to “take all necessary steps to implement this directive” and to inform staff and parents of the decision.
“The school has become redundant,” the public relations office of Saudia told Arab News.
Known as the American School, it has been in existence for 52 years, is fully accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and has 717 pupils.
Saudia has not informed the parents directly. It has also refused to divulge the fate of the considerable assets of the school.
With the airline nearly 100 percent Saudized, Saudia believes that the school — which was set up for children of its expatriate staff — “has become redundant.” It says its “core business is to run an airline” — all the more important with its pending privatization.
According to Saudia, all assets “belong 100 percent to the airline and will be dealt with in accordance with the airline’s established policies and procedures.” It declined to detail those procedures or explain who paid for the assets.
The school has a good reputation, high-quality teaching staff and comprehensive physical infrastructure, which makes a tempting package to sell to private investors as a going concern. Some parents believe this is an asset-stripping move by Saudia prior to privatization.
The parents are attempting to reorganize as a not-for-profit school under the name of the American International School of Jeddah, to provide continuity of education for their children.
Despite repeated attempts by school administrators and an approach by US Consul General Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley to contact Saudia officials, there has been no reply. “I have a meeting request pending,” said the consul general. “We expect a response, and I’m waiting for a date.”
“For individuals who attend the school, it would be devastating if it closed,” she said. “It would be heartbreaking to have such a fine tradition of American education end in Jeddah.”
One official at the school who preferred not to be named was “devastated” by the news. “The closure is a blow; securing the considerable assets built up by the school community is entirely another matter,” a member of the school administration commented. “The future of the huge resources for teaching and providing a full school environment for the pupils are now uncertain.”
One parent, Hisham Ibrahim, said that his first reaction was shock, then anger. “It’s a fine institution and provides the education that hundreds of parents have chosen for their children,” he said. “We have heard of the closure through the school, but Saudia has offered us no reason for it. If it does close, then many parents will reconsider their careers in the Kingdom. The effect on the local economy would be considerable.”
“The school board has been looking at a variety of other avenues to keep the school open,” Abercrombie-Winstanley said. “Consulate sponsorship is one of the things they have looked at.”
Offers of financial assistance and help have come from the US business community and families of Saudi students. “It’s quite clear that there is huge support for the continuance of the school as it is,” said a senior member of the parents school board.
“They have to decide which way they want to go,” said Abercrombie-Winstanley. “We are willing to assist in any way possible. We support, without any reservations whatever the continuation of the American school in Jeddah.”
That was rather uncalled for. His assumptions were not bad and he even said that they were a guess.
King Fahd has not governed the country for years. He is medically incapacitated. Crown Prince Abdullah is running things without any chaos breaking out.
This does not mean that there will not be a struggle when the king dies. There are many in the royal family who do not like Abdullah.
The Saudi leadership is fighting for survival.
So true. And the US isn't rushing to help them.
Better the royal family in charge than a Khomenhi like fundamentalist government that would take its place. The two holiest places in Islam are in Saudi Arabia. Any "liberation" by the US would have momentous reverberations throuout the Islamic world.
The last time I looked Saudia Arabia was run internally like a fundamentalist state and externally it exported jihad, no matter how the Westernly the princes behave once outside Saudi Arabia. There is no way we try and liberate Saudi Arabia because of the reverberations but lock it down and let nothing out of there once it has fallen is an other matter.
LOL! Or the dreaded Jewish toy "Barbie".
November 21, 2003
This supersedes the Worldwide Caution dated September 26, 2003 . It is being issued to re-emphasize the continuing threat that U.S. citizens may be a target of terrorist actions. This Worldwide Caution expires on April 21, 2004 .
The U.S. Government remains deeply concerned about the security of U.S. citizens overseas. U.S. citizens are cautioned to maintain a high level of vigilance, to remain alert and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. We are seeing increasing indications that Al-Qaida is preparing to strike U.S. interests abroad.
Al-Qaida and its associated organizations have struck in the Middle East in Riyadh , Saudi Arabia , and in Europe in Istanbul , Turkey . We therefore assess that other geographic locations could be venues for the next round of attacks. We expect Al-Qaida will strive for new attacks designed to be more devastating than the September 11 attack, possibly involving nonconventional weapons such as chemical or biological agents. We also cannot rule out that Al-Qaida will attempt a second catastrophic attack within the U.S.
Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. These may also involve commercial aircraft and maritime interests, and threats to include conventional weapons, such as explosive devices. Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. These may include facilities where U.S. citizens and other foreigners congregate or visit, including residential areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor recreation events or resorts and beaches. U.S. citizens should remain in a heightened state of personal security awareness when attendance at such locations is unavoidable.
U.S. Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or suspend public services from time to time to assess their security posture. In those instances, U.S. embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. Americans abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate .
As the Department continues to develop information on any potential security threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information through its consular information program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov. In addition to information on the Internet, travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. or outside the U.S. and Canada on a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2 328.
Return to Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings Page
Whatever you might think about the effectiveness of a travel warning against Greece, I can assure you the Greek government took it very seriously as did many travel agencies.
I guess I must be marching to another drummer. Better not get out of step with the prevailing wisdom.
They sure did. There was a warning and the next day a terrorist attack. The last time they said the threat was imminent and guess what? They were right.
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