Posted on 07/27/2002 10:11:04 PM PDT by prophetic
Britons left in jail amid fears that Saudi Arabia could fall to al-Qaeda
Martin Bright, Nick Pelham and Paul Harris Sunday July 28, 2002 The Observer
Saudi Arabia is teetering on the brink of collapse, fuelling Foreign Office fears of an extremist takeover of one of the West's key allies in the war on terror.
Anti-government demonstrations have swept the desert kingdom in the past months in protest at the pro-American stance of the de facto ruler, Prince Abdullah.
At the same time, Whitehall officials are concerned that Abdullah could face a palace coup from elements within the royal family sympathetic to al-Qaeda.
Saudi sources said the Pentagon had recently sponsored a secret conference to look at options if the royal family fell.
Demonstrations across the kingdom broke out in March, triggered by a fire in a girls' school in which 14 pupils died after the religious police stopped them escaping.
Unrest in the east of the country rapidly escalated into nationwide protests against the royal family that were brutally suppressed by the police. The Observer has obtained secret video footage of the protests smuggled out of the country last week that shows hundreds of Saudis, including women, demonstrating in support of the Palestinians and opposition to the regime.
The Foreign Office believes that the failure of Abdullah's recent Middle East peace plan could have terminally undermined his position.
The Crown Prince's main rival, Prince Sultan, the Defence Minister, has been vocal in his opposition to Abdullah's pro- Western policy. His brother Prince Naif, head of the Interior Ministry, has led a crackdown on the Saudi media in the wake of the demonstrations to stop any word of them leaking out.
Abdullah has even sent his own representative to Washington to counter the influence of the ambassador, Prince Bandar, a son of Prince Sultan.
Anti-Abdullah elements within the Saudi government are also thought to have colluded in a wave of bomb attacks on Western targets by Islamic terrorists.
The authorities have blamed the attacks on an alleged 'turf war' between Westerners involved in the bootleg alcohol trade and have jailed five Britons, a Canadian and a Belgian for the bombings. But British intelligence sources have confirmed that the attacks were carried out by Islamists linked to al-Qaeda.
Earlier this year, the accused men were handed sentences ranging from execution to long prison terms. But lawyers acting for the Britons have told The Observer that they could soon be free.
The tensions between the royal factions will intensify with the death of King Fahd. The condition of the king, in hospital in Switzerland, is 'unstable', doctors said.
British-based Saudi dissident Dr Saad al-Fagih said: 'There is now an undeclared war between the factions in the Saudi royal family.'
Now aint that dandy, with Saudi Arabia having the latest western military technology plus billions of petro dollars to boot it seems they may end up like IRAN?
I've always held that these pro-western Middle East dictators are all corrupt and spineless to take a real stand against the Muslim/Islamist terrorists in their midst.
methinks Bush should just topple the current Saudi govt and make them a part of Texas :-)
De jure instead of de facto. And the focus of the War on Terror.
Sometimes things have to get worse before they can improve.
They hold telethon's for the families of suicide bombers
They sent 14 of the 19 hijackers
They fund radical Islamic schools all over the world
They can lie almost as well as William Jefferson Clinton
And They hate the west...
If it walks like a Duck!
Jordan get Mecca and Medina back.
The Wahhabists get permanently relocated to the Empty Quarter with one tank of gas per SUV.
We should have let Iraq take them in '90. That would teach the ungrateful scum that makes up the House of Saud. To think we can't even say grace at the same moment we are defending their stinking rat hole.
In addition, if this transpires, it will just mean more chaos for the markets, energy prices, and middle east politics.
But, God is still in charge.
The author of this article has it backwards. Prince Sultan has been much more pro-American than Prince Abdullah. Prince Abdullah is a Muslim fanatic, and no friend of the U.S.
I didn't realize that the good King was in such grave condition. I have a study Koran as a personal gift from him.
Seems to me that the "Tradition" of the next son of Ibn Saud to take over, is guaranteeing more and more enfeeblement as that generation ages. Apparantly that was the same for The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan until, just days before his death, King Hussein changed the succession rules in favor of his son, the now King Abdullah, in keeping with Western notions of Royal Succession.
I do wonder about this though:
What the heck does that mean and if it means what it appears to mean then why does it mean that?
This will happen shortly before we attack them.
As for me, I think we shold just vaporize medina.
You're kidding me.
Praise be to "allah" for protecting these girls from their sinfullness.
You know, much more of this and imo, we can walk in not as a hostile military force to be destroyed at all costs, but as liberators who will actually be welcomed.
My 2 cents: Huge mistake.
You want worldwide outrage till the end of time? Then nuke medina and you will have it.
You will also have terror on a scale never before imagined.
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