Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia 

Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia

News that Al Qaeda training facilities have been "found" in Saudi Arabia. There is one perplexing sentence after another in this article.

"The statement [from the Interior Ministry] was the first confirmation the Al Qaeda terror network had infiltrated Saudi Arabia. The government previously acknowledged there could be Al Qaeda training facilities in the kingdom, but gave no details."

The government-run media are rushing to say "how open!," "how enlightened!" It reminds me of Mr. Collins, the fawning fool in Pride and Prejudice, sucking up to the great lady: "Such condescension!"

"The camps were set up to train militants to use weapons and prepare for terror operations, the official said on condition of anonymity. He did not specify the number of camps or say when they were found. Weapons seized from the camps will be turned over to the military, he said."

So maybe they're not being so open? The only dates given are in May 2003: a cache of weapons found in Riyadh, and then the bombings in Riyadh. Two editors of two government-controlled newspapers are quoted. We know the media in Saudi won't say anything critical of the royal family, thanks to Lawrence Wright in the New Yorker (link via Hit and Run).

Both editors downplay the discovery--the size and significance of it. One mystifying rationale: "'It is not really that Saudi authorities are making an announcement of something that they were hiding before,' he said. 'It is just that those places did not exist before. Now that they exist, the authorities are being transparent about it.'"

My questions:

1. How long have the facilities been there?
2. How hard were the Saudis looking?
3. Could this whole thing have been cleared up at the dinner table at the Crawford ranch?