Posted on 06/24/2004 8:35:42 AM PDT by NateLannister
Al Qaeda militants who kidnapped and killed American engineer Paul Johnson said Sunday on an Islamist Web site that sympathetic Saudi security forces aided their kidnapping operation with police uniforms and vehicles.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
The Communist News network is actually airing this??
I know. Wonders never cease.
... the noose is tightening around the royal family. They will now have to do their best to ferret out their enemies in the police force... Methinks they've got their hands full.
That is the great challenge in this conflict. Can't tell the good ones from the bad ones.
Well, allow me to play Devil's advocate here ... why would al Qaeda admit this? It can't be because of what they perceive as (empty) threats from the Saudis this week. This will only serve to have the Saudis crack down for real. If it's true, I see this as a blunder by al Qaeda. But being a cynic, I suspect al Qaeda may be trying to "set up" some folks who are part of the Saudi security force.
Maybe maybe not, it is well known that the terrorists wish to seriously shake up the Saudi government, this could very well be a lie designed to do just that.
To cause more of a rift between the Americans and the Saudi princes.
Oh, they'll admit anything when we are "torturing" them like we are... you know, putting underwear on their heads and stuff...
I certainly wouldn't be surprised if this were the case but it may also be clever psyops on the part of the terrorists.
OTOH, al-Q really does have a number of sympathizers within the royal family, at least inasmuch as they can constitute a lever to the succession. So it isn't impossible either.
I suspect they are becoming more and more aware of the finer aspects of grandstanding...that is, using the liberal media for all it's worth. What better forum to perpetuate more and more vicious discord? They can pit the luke warm Muslim elements against the more radical elements. This way, they can force a polarization more quickly than by terrorizing the citizens of Iraq and the coalition forces in their immediate reach. This is the only 'stage' for their rhetoric, and as they have no country and hence no diplomacy or statesmen, it's how they will gain the attention to their demands.
The Saudis are doing exactly what they always do -- playing both sides of the fence. They aid al Qaeda quietly when they can, thinking it will buy them off, but then make gestures of suddenly finding and killing the terrorists who slay an American 15 minutes after the tape of same hits the airwaves.
It's in our strategic interest to keep the Royal Family in place.
FYI.
In other news, Al Qaeda militants say up is down, black is white, evil is good, and 72 virgins is just an appetizer.
This announcement came on the heels of their leader al-Marqrin's (sp) death and in the midst of what the Saudis say is a massive manhunt for the captors and murders of Paul Johnson. The new head of AQ in Saudi Arabia is a former member of the Saudi security force. AQ might have been sending a message to informants, Beware, we can find out who you are.
Nothing new about groups of thugs and murderers, no matter how loosely organized, buying or exhorting inside help. The Mafia is legendary for having "acquired" widespread influence from local communities to police departments to city hall and beyond.
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