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From the LA TIMES opinion piece I quoted earlier today:
...On Tuesday, [the crown prince of Saudi Arabia] said: “There can be no acceptance or justification for terrorism. Nor is there a place for any ideology which promotes it.”
Finally! From 9-11 until now, we heard no such strong condemnations of terrorism from any Arab nations. On the contrary, we had stories like this:
NEW YORK (CNN) [Oct. 12, 2001]
—Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Thursday the city would not accept a $10 million donation for disaster relief from Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal after the prince suggested U.S. policies in the Middle East contributed to the September 11 attacks.
No Arab nations, and few Arab commentators, spoke up to loudly condemn terrorism. This was a big tip-off that they were secretly supporting it.
Now that the terrorists are starting to destroy other Arabs, Arabic leaders are at last speaking out against them.
Two days ago I posted an article saying that in my opinion, the attacks by Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia would work against the terrorist organization:
It is very much in our favor that Al Qaeda has explicitly threatened Saudi leaders. This means the Saudis will have to get off their terrorist-tolerant position because they themselves are now being threatened.
Today an editorial and an opinion piece in the LA TIMES are saying the same thing.
From the editorial:
...Monday night’s attacks on three housing complexes in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, should persuade the many princes in the realm that they are targets not of isolated psychopaths but of highly organized terrorists with money, expertise and a willingness to die for their cause. Unless the Saudis join forces more tightly with Washington to fight Al Qaeda, the presumed instigator of the attacks, the Riyadh government is signing its own death warrant.
From the opinion piece:
Saudi Suicide Bombings Work Against Al
As in Egypt in 1997, the killings will fuel a backlash against extremists......For the crown prince, terrorism is a clear and present danger. In the next few weeks, he will seek to turn the tide against Al Qaeda. Given the respect and support he commands among ordinary Saudis, he has a good chance of succeeding. On Tuesday, he said: “There can be no acceptance or justification for terrorism. Nor is there a place for any ideology which promotes it.” These are tough words that are likely to be matched with tough actions.
