Posted on 06/23/2004 8:24:06 AM PDT by areafiftyone
The Saudi's are a brutal, heavy handed dicatorship, they aren't in any real trouble, but their northern neighbor is, and I think now is not a smart time to talk about the Kingdom's instability if we care about the stability of their neighbor.
Can't argue about the heavy hand, but circumstances seem to be pointing toward severe unrest in the kingdom of saud. I am interested to see just what, if anything, happens in a month.
Heck a big part of that unrest is that darn Bush is talking about Reform and its infected the whole area!
Do you know of any action coming from this unrest personally from your time there? As far as I can see, this is one of those dog biscuits the liberal media can feed to conservative news consumers where the conservatives don't see their bias, (like the pessimism after a soldier dies in Iraq)
The media would LOVE to see the house of Saud fall, they think they are part of some Bush "conspiracy" to rule the world's oil. Also they wouldn't mind if gas prices went up so that we would all drive European mini cars and save the planet.
Well, if the house falls within the next few months that would be a disaster for America and Iraq. In a few years though it may not matter, but if the Shiites get control their too, they'll probably get Iraq, and it will be one huge Shiite area like in the Clancy book, now THAT would be doom, not for the Saudi's but for the Free World.
Bigtime. I'm speculating, but I think the one month amnesty could be a "breathing room" manuever by the house of saud to beef up it's internal security forces (and a chance to purge those un-loyal) before making any real attempt to deal with the insurgents.
If the house of saud were to fall, I see no recourse except to expand the Iraqi war theatre into Saudi Arabia, and the reprecussions of that would be, well...world wide, to say the least.
Well, I'll give you my speculation, that they were trying to make it appear to the public (who you probably know is rather hateful and nutty) that they were being extremely merciful and patient to the "misguided" militants by letting them turn themselves in, if after a month they haven't done so it might appear more reasonable to the citizens when they blow up a house and say it was because of terrorists.
Saudi Crackdown on Jihad.
Saudi cracks down on tailors dressing militants
23 Jun 2004 10:13:48 GMT
By Heba Kandil
RIYADH, June 23 (Reuters) - Saudi authorities have increased inspections at tailor shops in a bid to stop the illegal production of military uniforms used by al Qaeda militants bent on toppling the pro-U.S. monarchy.
Above the clatter of sewing machines, many tailors told Reuters on Wednesday that inspectors had warned them against selling uniforms to people without a military identification card.
"Every two weeks there is a police inspection at our shops," Indian tailor Ulom said in his tiny shop, one of several lining Riyadh's al-Wazir street where the bulk of uniforms are made.
"If I don't ask for IDs, I could be arrested," he says, holding his hands in a cuffed position.
The government began restricting access to uniforms after al Qaeda militants, in military or police gear, escalated their battle against the government and the Western residents they regard as "infidels".
In one of the bloodiest attacks by Osama bin Laden's group, militants masquerading as security men killed 22 civilians in a May shooting and hostage-taking spree in the oil city of Khobar.
In November 2003, suicide bombers also got into a Riyadh housing compound by dressing up as security forces. At least 18 people, mainly Arabs and Muslims, were killed in that attack.
And repeating a frequent claim, al Qaeda said in an Internet publication that some policemen had helped them kidnap U.S. engineer Paul Johnson -- whom they beheaded last week -- by providing uniforms and cars. The government denied the report.
At least 85 civilians and police have been killed by al Qaeda, blamed for the September 2001 attacks on U.S. cities.
DEVIANTS
The Saudi authorities say the militants often copy military costumes and paint cars in police colours.
But some militants used to serve in the security forces and diplomats said they often use their IDs and contacts to legally obtain props. Saleh al-Awfi, tipped to be the new al Qaeda leader in the kingdom, was a former Interior Ministry employee.
Mohammed, another Indian tailor, said he was happy to comply with the government regulations because he wants to make sure he is outfitting the "good guys" and not the "deviant faction".
"By God, it's a crime what's happening," he said as he carefully measured green camouflage cloth.
"But we only service people with military ID cards," he added, rising from his seat to greet a customer inspecting the boots, pistol holsters and name badges in the window display.
Saudi forces won a major battle against the group on Friday when they shot and killed four prominent militants, including Saudi's al Qaeda leader Abdulaziz al-Muqrin.
Despite the government's efforts, some Saudis say anybody can buy the costumes without the mandatory documents. The shop's provide uniforms for cadets at military school and officers. "Yes, there are restrictions but a trader will often forgo IDs for a profit," said one Saudi journalist. "Buying a military outfit is as easy as buying a can of soft drink."
Please note the position of the United States in relation to Canada. Now imagine what happens to things located directly beneath a rectum.....That is a VERY BAD idea.
I think you're right. Within a couple of years at the latest, whatever survives of the House of Saud will be living on a beach in Monaco or Florida, sipping tea and complaing about the weather....
Meanwhile, The new Mullahs of the Arabian Islamic Republic will be living in tents in the desert trying to sell oil for nukes.....
It'll be hard for them though, as all the people who ran the oil program were either beheaded in the purge or got out..........But they can always hire the French to run the wells
One more very good reason to tighten border control in the North.
It probably wouldn't be one big Shiite area --- there would be a lot of infighting between Shiites and the others and could Shiites control the Arabs?
I bet this is really going to work. Maybe the United States should tell all criminals at large, that they have one month to turn themselves in. I bet that will have them turning themselves over in droves./sarcasm off
Well, its whoever has the biggest gun. The Sunni control Iraq for 100 years and they are a minority.
I don't know the percentages of Shiites in Saudi though, but I have heard that they are there and some are funded by the Iranians to create instability there for the Royals. As for Iraq, they have been there since day 1 after Saddam, and if we were more public about our intel on them, it would be obvious that those "militias" in Faluhja and other places are nothing more than 10s of thousands of Iranian Intelligence members. The Iranians have designs on controling those 3 countries, and I don't think America publicly acknowledges their potential to pull it off...
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