TA-ORGANIZATIONS: Saudi Arabian King Vows To Eliminate Al Qaeda

Wow. This is very intersting, because until now al-qaida's been able to say that the kings are corrupt, and that the koran is the one that you have to listen to (their interpretation of the koran of course), and a big part of that is what the councils of respected clerics discuss and rule on.

The saudi councils are the really big ones too, especially for sunni islam, and even more so for 'wahabbi' islam, which al-qaidan ideology is a militant version of. So having wahabbi clerical councils sue similar language to the kings, or tactically or even better, explicity, approve of that language, is a serious religious-ideological blow. IOW, you can say that the king is corrupted and debauched, but you can't say that all the big holy men.

Consider, for example, the last time that the S'aud family had to deal with this sort of thing. They have used the council of wahabbi clerics to get religious backing for their drive to create a throne, and also the military backing of the Ikhwan, a strict wahabist warrior tribe. After getting them to the throne, the Ikhwan, which was too strict in its religious interpretations, became a serious problem and threat to the throne. So the crown went to the councils, got approval to get rid of the Ikhwan, and then destroyed them.

Something similar might be happening now wrt al-qaida in arabia.

Originally posted by elderban
most of the "insurgents" in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia.

Er, not according to the US Army, the british government, or anyone that is actually dealing with the insurgents. The overwhelming majority of them are native iraqis.

Most > insurgents in Iraq come from Saudi Arabia and travel via Syria.



[edit on 15-11-2005 by NumberCruncher]

And lets keep in mind that foreign fighters are, what, maybe 10 percent, at most, over there no?

So on the English speaking TV show he said that he's going to
get rid of terrorists.

What did he say on Al-Jazeera and other Arab speaking shows?

I remember Arafat saying one thing to the Western audience
and the completely opposite thing to the Arab audience -
and saying them in two totally different languages.

The Saudi's have cultivated Wahabbism with a zeal!
If they are really going to get rid of terrorists (which I
HIGHLY doubt), they are going to have to dig deep
to root them out. They have been growing them
for a VERY long time!!

Originally posted by FlyersFan

So on the English speaking TV show he said that he's going to
get rid of terrorists.

It would be interesting to know how they define terrorism.

The Treasury Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, Daniel Glaser, disclosed that the Bush Administration had doubts over Saudi Arabia's claims to have closed a government account, known as Account 98, that funded Palestinian terrorist groups but donations to which had still been solicited in August in a broadcast on Saudi television.

Mr. Glaser also expressed Administration concern over the overseas activities of other Saudi charities and non-governmental organizations with close ties to the Saudi royal family.

A senior U.S. Treasury official on Tuesday told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Bush administration had doubts over Saudi Arabia's claims to have closed a government account that funded militant Palestinian groups, and was concerned about the overseas activities of Saudi charities and non-governmental organizations with close ties to the royal family.

Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant secretary in the Treasury's office for dealing with terrorist financing, said the U.S. remained "deeply concerned" whether a Saudi ban on funding charities overseas had been implemented with respect to "so-called international NGOs."

He named three big organizations with close ties to members of the royal family - the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, and the Muslim World League.

"Saudi Arabia will have to move beyond reacting to information provided by the U.S. and to lead the effort to identify and take action against sources of terrorist financing"

(source)

[edit on 15-11-2005 by Riwka]

Originally posted by LazarusTheLong
[They are not the people that are price gouging... our own oil companies are doing that, by artificially stimulating demand with less supply...

That's an unfair accusation Lazarus. The U.S. acts like it is the only market for oil in the world, but that isn't true anymore. Oil prices are high because of the worldwide demand for oil and the fact that other oil consuming nations are bidding up the price. Further, the oil industry in this country is terribly inefficient for three primary reasons: (1) Consumers in the U.S. demand a lot of specialized products which requires facilities & pipelines to shut down & be scrubbed at every changeover (a lengthy procedure); (2) Access to oil & gas deposits in and around the U.S. are closed off or restrictred by environmental groups/concerns; and (3) The permitting processes the various companies have to go through is long, tedious and in many ways draconian.

Now, back on topic, the Saudi's have been working hard for about two years now to rid themselves of any group that attacks foreign oil people in their country. They have done a pretty good job in that regard too. However, if such groups do not threaten the domestic tranquility of Saudi Arabia then they aren't pursued with anything near the same zeal. All in all I would have to say they act just about like every other country around the world--namely, they look out for their own self-interests.

[edit on 15-11-2005 by Astronomer68]