Posted on 05/14/2003 5:01:01 PM PDT by blam
America accuses Saudis
By Toby Harnden in Washington
(Filed: 15/05/2003)
The White House demanded last night that Saudi Arabia crack down on al-Qa'eda and accused it of failing to try to prevent the Riyadh suicide bombings that killed 25 people, including seven Americans and two Britons.
The aftermath of the attack on an expatriate compound in Riyadh
"Saudi Arabia must deal with the fact it has terrorists inside its own country," said Ari Fleischer, President George W Bush's spokesman.
"Their presence is as much a threat to Saudi Arabia as it is to Americans and others who live and work in Saudi Arabia."
A Foreign Office spokesman said that two bodies found yesterday at the scene of one of the four bombs were believed to be those of two British workers who had been reported missing. Their names were not given.
The United States embassy in Riyadh said that it would arrange evacuation flights for any of the 40,000 Americans living in the kingdom who wished to depart. All families and non-essential staff from American missions were told to return home.
Foreign Office officials said there was a "high threat" of further attacks in Saudi Arabia and warned Britons not to travel there unless necessary. Several companies said all dependants would be leaving.
There were fears of a mass exodus involving the 100,000 western expatriates, but many companies said they would not abandon their lucrative contracts with the world's biggest oil exporter.
Perhaps it is good that the U.S. Third Infantry Division remains in Iraq. American interests are served far better with that division in Iraq instead of Georgia.
A lesson from history in that regard, is that Alexander magnanimously let his newly-wed Macedonian soldiers go home on leave once a year -- no general had ever done that before.
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