PhotoDude.com

Mon. May 31, 2004

Released on Recognizance

The picture in Saudi Arabia, as usual, has been quite confusing. The government, which controls the press, has had very little to say about this weekend’s attacks, and what they have said has been misleading at best. First we heard that there was an attempted assault by Saudi forces, but they retreated under fire. Then we all saw some men get out of a helicopter on top of a building, as part of what they claimed was a successful assault on the terrorists, who they said were holding up to 50 hostages.

We were later told that the terrorist leader had been captured, but after a 25 hour standoff, they other three simply got away. That’s what they said. But now, in the Saudi tradition, we’re hearing yet another version. An uglier one.

It’s a long held principle that negotiating with terrorists simply validates their acts, and guarantees you will get many more opportunities to negotiate with them again. In Saudi Arabia, they not only negotiate with them, they simply let them go.

Three of four attackers who killed 22 people in the Saudi oil city of Khobar were allowed to escape because they were threatening to kill 242 people being held as human shields, a senior Saudi Interior Ministry official says.

The official said Monday the attackers told Saudi commanders they were wearing explosive belts and would set off blasts killing the people they were holding.

At that point, the official said, the Saudi commanders decided to let them go.

However, he added, the security forces know who the three men are and what they look like.

CNN: “Saudi: Gunmen allowed to escape”

Most reassuring. It’s good that Saudi security knows what they look like, so that next time the terrorists attack, they can say, “yep, it’s those same guys again.”

This is how Saudi Arabia deals with Al Qaeda; they let them go, and say it’s OK because they know what they look like. Hey, why didn’t we think of this sooner?!? I bet they know what Osama bin Laden looks like, too! So why have we been so worried? The Saudi Royal family has things totally under control. Sure they do.

But then there’s this alternate reality, one where staid publications like The Economist wonder, Terrorists are now targeting Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. How bad could things get? “Oil traders report that fears of terrorist attacks that might disrupt Middle-Eastern oil exports may account for as much as $8 of the current [$40] per-barrel price. That may be because what was once unthinkable now seems possible, perhaps even inevitable: a major terrorist attack, or series of attacks, on oil facilities within Saudi Arabia.”

Now, as we stand at the pump bleeding bucks at two per gallon, let’s ponder, what impact might an Al Qaeda attack that disrupted Saudi oil supplies for a couple of months have here in the US … in the months leading up to the election? You do remember that disrupting the democratic process may have become Al Qaeda’s new favorite pasttime, don’t you? A train in Spain is not the only way to do that.

Oops, I forgot. There’s no need to worry when we have people like Prince Bandar to take care of us. As they always have. Because they know what these people look like.

That statement says more than they ever intended.