On The Third Hand

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies

A source told CNN’s Nic Robertson that Fahd died Sunday evening. His burial is scheduled for Tuesday at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. EDT) in Riyadh.

The former Crown Prince Abdullah, Fahd’s half brother, has been named the new Saudi king and Defense Minister Prince Sultan has replaced Abdullah as crown prince.

“King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has chosen Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz as Crown prince in accordance with Article 5 of the basic system of government,” a statement from the Saudi royal court said.

“Allegiance will be paid by the public to King Abdullah and Prince Sultan after the noon prayers on Wednesday.”

The Saudi monarch had been in and out of the hospital in recent months, most recently suffering from pneumonia-like symptoms. Fahd yielded day-to-day control of the kingdom a decade ago after suffering a stroke, with Abdullah serving as the de facto ruler since then.

Interesting - I didn’t expect the succession to go so smoothly. (Hat tip: Dean’s World)

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia reported dead

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May. 27 (UPI) – Reliable sources in the Saudi capital Riyadh said Friday King Fahd is dead, reports the Saudi Institute.

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia has been dead since late Wednesday, according to several well-placed sources in the capital Riyadh who spoke to the Saudi Institute, a pro-democracy think tank in Washington, on condition of anonymity.

The government also canceled all military leave, “a sure sign that something is happening,” said the Saudi Institute.

There was no confirmation of heightened security alert reported by some western media and denied by the government, who also denied the king is dead, but said he was in the hospital.

I’d certainly take anything from ‘anonymous sources’ with a grain of salt, no matter how ‘reliable’ they are. (Official reports this morning are that he is in the hospital in ’stable condition’.) But I’d suggest we all keep a close eye on happenings in Saudi Arabia until this is either confirmed or disproven (and an even closer eye if it is confirmed). Things could get interesting.

[update:] Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat As Qudwa al-Hussaeini (aka Yasser Arafat) is still dead.

The Face of Iraqi Terrorism by Stephen Schwartz

A new study shows where the foreign fighters in Iraq are coming from. Care to guess?

There are some interesting statistics in this piece.

The Global Research in International Affairs Center in Israel, a highly reputable and reliable think-tank, has published a paper titled “Arab volunteers killed in Iraq: an Analysis,” available at e-prism.org. Authored by Dr. Reuven Paz, the paper analyzes the origins of 154 Arab jihadists killed in Iraq in the last six months, whose names have been posted on Islamist websites.

The sample does not account for all jihadists in Iraq, but provides a useful and eye-opening profile of them. Saudi Arabia accounted for 94 jihadists, or 61 percent of the sample, followed by Syria with 16 (10 percent), Iraq itself with only 13 (8 percent), and Kuwait with 11 (7 percent.) The rest included small numbers from Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Algeria, Morocco (of which one was a resident in Spain), Yemen, Tunisia, the Palestinian territories (only 1), Dubai, and Sudan. The Sudanese was living in Saudi Arabia before he went to die in Iraq.

Recommended.

US Citizen Charged with Plotting to Assassinate Bush.

A U.S. citizen who spent time in Saudi Arabia has been accused of conspiring with the al-Qaida terrorist network and taking part in a plot to assassinate President Bush. A six-count indictment against the man was unsealed in a federal court outside Washington.

The indictment contends that Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a one-time resident of Virginia, pursued religious studies in Saudi Arabia in 2000 and returned to the kingdom in 2002 to aid and join forces with the al-Qaida network.

The document says Mr. Abu Ali discussed plans to assassinate President Bush with several unidentified co-conspirators. The indictment said the accused man received a religious blessing to carry out the alleged plot that involved shooting the president or detonating an explosive.

I think this is a ‘wait and see what more comes out’ case.

Thanks to wits0, who is on a roll today, for the heads-up.

You reap what you sow.

A very apt Cox & Forkum cartoon.

Terrorists strike US consulate

Attackers have killed four guards and taken 18 local staff hostage at the US mission in the port city of Jeddah on Saudi Arabia’s west coast.

Attackers stormed the consulate, setting the building alight and exchanging fire with security forces.

American officials said there were no reports of US casualties, but it was not immediately clear if others were hurt.

The witnesses said the car exploded in front of the consulate, and ambulances were seen rushing to the scene.

Al-Arabiya satellite television reported four attackers tried to storm the compound in a car, but that the car exploded in front instead.

Reuters said the attackers exchanged fire with security forces and reported a Western executive, quoting officials inside the building, saying attackers infiltrated the complex and threw hand grenades.

Still ongoing but they have reported all Americans are safe and accounted for. I’m sure that disappoints the Jihadis. But let us hope all the local hostages remain safe as well.

Saudi plan for Muslim forces is rejected

Iraqi government officials and commanders of the U.S.-led military coalition killed a proposal by Saudi Arabia for a Muslim peacekeeping force in Iraq, the White House said yesterday, citing concerns over who would be in charge.

Responding to reports in two newspapers, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the government in Baghdad had “some real concerns” about having troops from a neighboring country inside Iraq.

Well, duh!

…Newsday and the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that President Bush rebuffed what the newspapers called a plan that would have helped the United Nations organize elections in Iraq.

Attributing the account to unidentified Saudi and Iraqi officials, Newsday said Crown Prince Abdullah and other Saudi leaders had lobbied Mr. Bush to approve the plan for a force of several hundred troops from Arab and Muslim countries to protect U.N. officials in Iraq.

The prince discussed the idea with Mr. Bush in a 10-minute telephone conversation on July 18 after meeting with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Newsday said.

The force would have been controlled by the United Nations instead of U.S. commanders. The initiative died last month despite acceptance by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, because the Muslim and Arab countries refused to work under U.S. command, Newsday said.

Of course they wouldn’t work under US command. The US isn’t on the same side. Under UN command they could help the jihadis and Ba’athists.

Saudis eliminate al-Qaida at home, fund abroad

U.S. officials say Saudi Arabia has eliminated al-Qaida leadership at home but continues to fund the terrorist network abroad, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.

Officials said Saudi Arabia has captured or killed many al-Qaida leaders over the last three months. Saudi security forces, with support from U.S. intelligence and law enforcement, raided al-Qaida strongholds in Buraida, Mecca, Jeddah and Riyadh, they said.

“Saudi Arabia is working hard to shut down the facilitators and financial supporters of terrorism, and they have captured or killed many first-tier leaders of the al-Qaida organization in Saudi Arabia,” the White House said in a Sept. 11 statement. “Today, because Saudi Arabia has seen the danger and joined the war on terror, the American people are safer.” [Yeah, right. –kk]

…

But U.S. officials said Saudi Arabia has failed to stop financing to al-Qaida. Despite U.S. appeals, Saudi charities continue to relay funds to al-Qaida abroad, particularly in financing Arab operatives in Africa and Chechnya.

Surprise, surprise. The Saudi attitude to terrorism has always been “good job, just don’t do it here.”

Hat tip: Jihad watch.

Americans Are Different From Saudis

Does time and place make people visibly different from one another in attitude and behavior? A blind humanist would whisper a soft no; a scientist would boom a deafening yes; a sociologist — a mix of the two — would simply sigh. Columnists (not journalists mind you) will be all three in one as they pontificate. I read one such columnist in the local press who went on about how similar Americans and Saudis are and ended up saying we part company later since we are not similar.

I for one would not want us to be similar since that would make the world a very dull place. We would be like millions of worker ants serving an ant queen. That is a broad-brush statement to cover the whole issue. Now to the nitty gritty.

The Americans are different from us and here are some examples. They resent their dependence on our oil because they are used to finding and inventing things while catering for themselves and helping themselves in this life. They are vocal about this resentment. Therefore, there are no hidden issues. At the same time, they work hard and invest heavily to find other means. We, on the other hand, watch their movies, eat their junk food, drive their cars, fly in their planes, and use their currency. All the while, we are inventing nothing and investing in the void. Yet, we see ourselves as morally superior.

Ouch. I hope the man is writing under a pseudonym. Read on, it’s an excellent article. Which, of course, will be very unlikely to ever be printed in Arabic so that most Saudis can read it.

You can search the 911 Comission’s report here

The company, Vivisimo, seems to be using the report to demonstrate their search engine technology. I’m not sure how long it will continue doing so, but it’s a right handy little resource at the moment. For instance, a search on Clarke and Saudi brought up this tidbit:

Second, we found no evidence of political intervention.We found no evidence that anyone at the White House above the level of Richard Clarke participated in a decision on the departure of Saudi nationals. The issue came up in one of the many video teleconferences of the interagency group Clarke chaired, and Clarke said he approved of how the FBI was dealing with the matter when it came up for interagency discussion at his level. Clarke told us,“I asked the FBI, Dale Watson . . . to handle that, to check to see if that was all right with them, to see if they wanted access to any of these people, and to get back to me.And if they had no objections, it would be fine with me.” Clarke added,“I have no recollection of clearing it with anybody at the White House.”26 Although White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card remembered someone telling him about the Saudi request shortly after 9/11, he said he had not talked to the Saudis and did not ask anyone to do anything about it.The President and Vice President told us they were not aware of the issue at all until it surfaced much later in the media. None of the officials we interviewed recalled any intervention or direction on this matter from any political appointee.

Have fun!

Saudi system ‘abuses foreigners’

The rights of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia are being abused not only by employers but by the country’s legal system, an advocacy group has claimed.

A report by Human Rights Watch decries what it calls the failure of the Saudi justice system to provide redress.

It speaks of workers who face torture, forced confessions and unfair trials when they are accused of crimes.

But the Saudi embassy in Washington said the report “grossly exaggerates” a few instances of abuse.

“The kingdom… takes the issue of human rights very seriously and we continue to make progress in this regard,” it said in a statement.

And pigs will fly.

Saudis: Bin Laden associate surrenders.

A longtime associate of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden surrendered to Saudi Arabian officials Tuesday, a Saudi Interior Ministry official said.

But it is unclear what role, if any, Khaled al-Harbi may have had in any terror attacks because no public charges have been filed against him.

And though a Saudi security official called al-Harbi “a big fish,” a U.S. intelligence official told CNN he was “not particularly significant.”

The blogosphere seems a bit excited about this. He’s not exactly top-level management so I’m afraid I’m not overly excited. However; he may know a few things and one can hope that the Saudis will share any information pertinent to our concerns (not that I’d depend on the Saudis for anything).