"They have not shown a united front in dealing with security issues or the
question of reform in the country."
On June 23, Saudi Arabia offered Al Qaida a one-month limited amnesty.
Abdullah said in a televised address that Al Qaida supporters would be given
a final chance to surrender. The Islamic insurgency movement was said to
have a support network of up to 3,000 people in Saudi Arabia.
"Those who surrender voluntarily within no more than one month from the date
of this speech will be treated according to God's law," Abdullah said.
"All of you know that we are not speaking from a position of weakness, but
we offer an alternative to those who might make use of it."
Opposition sources said Abdullah has been blocked in efforts to launch an
all-out military campaign against Al Qaida. The sources, in assertions
confirmed by some Western officials, said the crown prince has failed to
obtain the support of Interior Minister Prince Nayef, who has sought
reconciliation with Al Qaida.
Saudi authorities have tried to play down the extent of Al Qaida's threat to
Western nationals in the kingdom. Saudi opposition sources said Saudi
censors blocked the website of John Bradley, a British specialist on Saudi
affairs and former managing editor of the Jeddah-based Arab News.
Bradley was said to have posted messages from Westerners that expressed
security concerns in Saudi Aramco's compound in Dhahran.
The analysts said many members of the royal family have sought to transfer
their assets outside the kingdom to prepare the possibility of exile. Other
leading members, particularly Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul
Aziz, have been plagued by illness and are no longer functioning, they said.
"The king and senior princes are all old and increasingly frail," said Simon
Henderson, a researcher at the Washington Institute. "For the last decade
they have increasingly bickered over every significant decision. Investment
in the oil industry: delayed; action on oil prices: delayed; support for the
U.S.: delayed and diminished; action against Al Qaida: denial, then delay."
Saudi King Fahd has prepared to leave the kingdom for an extended period.
Opposition sources said Fahd, who suffers from dementia and has not
functioned for the last five years, would not be taking his regular summer
holiday in Switzerland.
Instead, the sources said, Fahd was expected to be sent to Lebanon in what
could become the next haven for the royal family. Fahd's entourage -- which
exceeds more than 2,000 people -- has booked three Beirut-area hotels and
purchased about 100 luxury sedans.
For her part, Ms. Yamani, a 47-year-old Saudi national and author of a
forthcoming book on Saudi Arabia, said the absence of unity in the family
has led to chaos in the government and security forces. She said the Saudi
government has been in a "state of terminal denial and paralysis" regarding
the Al Qaida campaign.
"Termites of terrorism and violence are eating at the foundation of the
state," said Yamani, who has testified before the U.S. Senate. Her book is
entitled "Cradle of Islam: the Hejazi Quest for an Arabian Identity."
Saudi opposition sources said Al Qaida has increasingly infiltrated Saudi
security forces. This prevents Al Qaida from being eliminated, despite the
Saudi killing of Abdul Aziz Al Muqrin, regarded as the movement's commander
in the kingdom. The sources said at least four of the six major Al Qaida
cells in the kingdom have been destroyed.
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in
a study that Al Qaida has a huge pool of recruits. The study said up to
25,000 men in Saudi Arabia have received training in Al Qaida-aligned camps
in Afghanistan and other locations. This could allow Al Qaida to quickly
restore its network following the killing of Al Muqrin and three of his
aides hours after they announced the execution of a U.S. hostage on June 18.
"From the Saudi perspective, they feel that they have basically eliminated
the core of four cells and most of up to six cells -- and that much of the
active leadership and sort of trained manpower for Al Qaida has now been
decimated," said Anthony Cordesman, a senior fellow at the center.
_____
Saudis fail to provide assurances on armed guards to protect Westerners in
the kingdom
ABU DHABI -- Western nations having a presence in Saudi Arabia have demanded
improved Saudi security forces as well as the deployment of hundreds of
foreign armed guards to protect their citizens in the kingdom.
But Western diplomatic sources said Saudi officials have refused to provide
a timetable when the foreign security guards would be allowed to operate
with licensed firearms. Last week, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin
Abdul Aziz said foreigners could apply for gun licenses.
The demands were presented and discussed during a meeting by Western
ambassadors with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal in Jeddah on
June 27. The ambassadors were said to have warned that without a dramatic
improvement in Saudi security, Western nationals would leave the kingdom.
"We want a better exchange of information between the information and
interior ministries and the expat community," U.S. Ambassador James
Oberwetter told a news conference after the meeting. "We also want better
training for the security forces, better equipment for the security forces
and an improvement of checkpoints."
Since May, 23 foreigners, many of them Westerners, were killed in Al Qaida
attacks. The last casualty was Lockheed Martin engineer Paul Johnson,
abducted and executed on June 18. Britain and the United States have urged
their nationals to leave the kingdom.
Oberwetter, who led ambassadors from 10 countries in the two-hour meeting,
said other demands included that Saudi security forces undergo additional
training. He said countries other than the United States wanted to "train
and mentor" Saudi security forces.
In all, the ambassador said, Prince Saud was asked 40 questions at the
meeting.
Western diplomatic sources said the ambassadors demanded the deployment of
hundreds of foreign security guard around Western housing compounds and
areas where Western nationals congregate. They included shopping centers,
hotels and offices. Until now, the kingdom has allowed the deployment of
foreign security guards, but prevented them from carrying firearms.
"My impression is that it [the deployment of armed foreign guards] will not
be anytime soon," Oberwetter said.
For his part, Prince Saud was said to have agreed to the demand for armed
foreign security guards. But he did not provide a timetable for when the
foreign guards could begin deployment and the number of such personnel.
"All are allowed to carry weapons according to conditions applied in the
kingdom," diplomatic sources quoted Saud as saying.
The sources said Saudi authorities have also agreed to a demand to establish
a hotline for the 80,000 Western nationals in the kingdom. They said the
hotline would enable Westerners concerned over their security to telephone
the Interior Ministry at all hours of the day.
_____
British special forces unit arrives in Saudi Arabia to evaluate threat
Britain has won Saudi Arabian permission to deploy a special forces unit in
the Arab kingdom.
A 25-member British special forces team arrived in Riyad in mid-June and has
been reviewing British security requirements and coordinating with Saudi
intelligence to bolster the kingdom's capabilities against Al Qaida. The
British team, drawn from SAS commandos, has been authorized to enhance
protection of the British embassy and consulates in Saudi Arabia as well as
diplomats and their families.
Western diplomatic sources said the arrival of the SAS squad marked
increasing concern by Western countries that Saudi authorities have been
unable or unwilling to protect Western nationals in the kingdom. The United
States has deployed an FBI and State Department team of counter-insurgency
experts in Riyad.
More than 25 foreigners, many of them Western nationals, have been killed in
attacks and abductions in Khobar and Riyad over the last two months.
On June 18, the leader of the Al Qaida network in Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz
Al Muqrin, was killed in a Saudi security operation in Riyad.
"To say the security situation is disastrous would not be an exaggeration,"
a Western diplomat said. "There is a feeling on Saudi streets that you can
attack anybody who looks like a Westerner and get away with it."
The SAS team represents what could become a much larger British commando
force that could enter the kingdom during an emergency. The SAS team was
being supported by hundreds of British military personnel in Qatar who could
respond to any crisis that would require the evacuation of British diplomats
and their families as well as key members of the British business community
in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia hosts an estimated 20,000 Britons. Diplomatic sources said the
SAS team would not directly improve security for that community, many of
whose members work for BAe Systems, Royal Dutch/Shell and other leading
defense and energy contractors. Some contractors have already offered
Western nationals a bonus to prevent an exodus from Saudi Arabia.
The SAS force in Riyad would also bolster intelligence as part of an effort
to protect British installations and nationals in Saudi Arabia. The
London-based Daily Telegraph reported on June 22 that SAS has been supported
by a team of Arabic-speaking intelligence officers who will scour Riyad for
information on Al Qaida.
Many of the intelligence officers were recruited from Britain's Muslim
community, the newspaper said. Arabic-speaking officers will also man an
operations room that will scan Saudi cellular and radio traffic for any sign
of an attack.
"They will provide vital feedback from the streets and will give us a major
foothold in the war against Al Qaida," a senior British official told the
Telegraph.
The British embassy in Riyad has refused to confirm the Telegraph report.
But an embassy spokesman acknowledged that the British embassy and
consulates have drafted new security and contingency plans.
"We cannot comment on details for obvious reasons," embassy spokesman Barrie
Peach said. "The welfare and safety of our staff is paramount."
Western diplomatic sources said British intelligence has assessed that the
embassy and consulates could come under Al Qaida rocket attack. In June,
British Airways reduced flights to Saudi Arabia amid intelligence alerts
that Al Qaida planned to kill airline crews or fire missiles toward
passenger jets.
Source: Geostrategy
