Posted on 06/12/2004 3:50:39 PM PDT by saquin
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A purported al-Qaida statement Saturday claimed the terror group had kidnapped an American man in the Saudi capital and threatened to treat him as U.S. troops treated Iraqi prisoners. The online statement also claimed al-Qaida had killed an American.
American citizen Kenneth Scroggs was shot and killed in the parking garage of his house Saturday afternoon. The U.S. Embassy confirmed another American was missing but would not identify him.
"We do have reports of a missing American," an embassy spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are working with local authorities to find him and are in touch with his family."
The al-Qaida statement, posted late Saturday on an Islamic Web site, showed a passport-size photo of a brown-haired man and a business card bearing the name Paul M. Johnson.
The statement said the terror group would deal with the hostage just as "the Americans dealt with our brothers in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli also said reports of a missing American were being investigated.
It said that Johnson was born in 1955, and is one of four experts in Saudi Arabia working on developing Apache 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 (news - web sites), and Iraq (news - web sites)," said the statement.
The group said it will release a video tape later to list its demands and show Johnson's confessions.
The statement was signed by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the same group that claimed responsibility for a shooting spree and hostage taking in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar on May 29-30, killing 22 people.
"The mujaheddin also managed to kill another American who is working as a manager in the same military sector where the hostage was working. The mujaheddin monitored him and killed him in his house," the statement read.
They're going to force him to masturbate in front of female terrorists?
Ok, I 'll say it, panties and a leash are not going to get them anywhere.
It's time for Delta team.
American citizen Kenneth Scroggs was shot and killed in the parking garage of his house Saturday afternoon. The U.S. Embassy confirmed another American was missing but would not identify him.
I see, al qaeda scum just don't have the mental capacity to decipher the difference between "panties" and "bullets".
Have at it Dan Rather!
So, AQ means they are going to put panties on his head and attach a leash instead of chopping his head off? Sounds too good to be true!
Well, if that's all they do - I'd say this guy is off the hook.
Of course, we don't hate women the way they do, so putting panties on his head may not have the same impact with us that it seems to have for them and the press.
Whoever he is, however, prayers for him.
So does this mean that AQ will start abiding by the Geneva Conventions?
Get ready for another televised beheading.
I hope with all that is within me that you are wrong.
I'm surprised there haven't been more hostages taken, though. It's been an effective tool over the eons.
Expect the worst, pray for the best.
I'd say there needs to be increased security in areas where Americans are living and working and I'm not talking about Saudi's being the ones to provide the security. I don't trust them. They are the ones that created this problem.
Definitely agree with you on the Saudi "guards". However, foreigners are not usually allowed firearms under any circumstances....at least the ME countries I've been in. Epats are totally dependent on the host country's security guards. I think tho that Saudi is so dependent on US expertise - that could be negotible with them at this time.
I'd say they need to change the gun law really quick if the Royals want their pampered asses to stay in power.
I feel very badly for the hostage and his family and the family of the man who was killed, but any American in SA is a Darwin Award nominee.
I as a Nurse would never go there!!! Glad this is happening to them:
Saudi exodus: ''Large number'' of expatriate nurses decide not to renew contracts
An unusually "large number" of vacancies have been reported from government and private sectors in the wake of the latest attacks on foreigners in Saudi Arabia, alocal newspaper said on Sunday.
These vacancies relate to technical, executive and secretarial jobs in a wide range of fields, including health care, marketing, water treatment, IT, manpower development, accounting, engineering and environmental protection. They underline security concerns over attacks in Riyadh and the Eastern Province, coinciding with the growing number of Western expatriates leaving the Kingdom, Arab News reported.
A large number of nurses working for the Ministry of Health and private hospitals have also decided not to renew their contracts and opt instead to seek work elsewhere. Many hospitals in the UK, Ireland and other European countries are also offering attractive salaries to these nurses from South and Southeast Asia, sometimes up to four times more than what they are earning at present.
Another factor responsible for nurses wishing to work abroad is malpractice on the part of a number of recruitment agencies in Riyadh, identified by the Indian Embassy. The mission’s labor welfare section has complained in a letter to the Saudi Ministry of Health about the situation faced by a number of Indian doctors and nurses.
The complaints include contract substitution, delayed payment of salaries, overtime and other allowances, denial of vacation or final exit, inadequate housing, prolonged retention of nurses without salaries, vacations, or exit visas, and denial of basic amenities, including permission to visit markets for shopping.
In some cases, employees have been forced to work against their will long after their contracts have expired.
The situation has been compounded by an acute shortage of Saudi nurses. According to Dr. Fahd Abdul Jabbar, executive director of King Abdul Aziz Medical City, the Kingdom’s hospitals need about 100,000 female nurses and male medical personnel. At present there are only 1,000 Saudi nurses. The number of expatriate nurses stands at 53,000. (menareport.com)
Yes.
What do they care if some get taken hostage and/or killed? They just send in for more replacements.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.