Saudis determined to uproot terrorism

Five non-American consulate employees were killed along with four attackers in a gun battle with security forces after gunmen used explosives to break into the compound.

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Despite such assurances, however, the US has closed diplomatic posts in Saudi Arabia at least through Tuesday, reports The China Daily.

A group calling itself " Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia" said on a militant website Monday that it carried out the attack, dubbing it "the blessed Fallujah battle" in reference to the volatile Iraqi city, which has become a well-known hub for insurgent activity and the site of a recent US-led offensive.

The International Herald Tribune reports that the assault "showed that even highly guarded American targets in the kingdom are vulnerable, and analysts warned that terrorists will likely be encouraged to attack again."

The significance of the attack, analysts say, is the target, timing and element of surprise, three factors that may force a closer look at the Saudi government's efforts in fighting terror.

... the attackers' rapid penetration of the compound raised questions about how vulnerable US diplomatic sites may be even after a concerted campaign in recent years to make them more secure.

The Age of Australia reports that President Bush is linking the Saudi raid to the upcoming elections in Iraq. "The attacks in Saudi Arabia remind us that the terrorists are still on the move," Mr. Bush said. "They want us to leave Saudi Arabia. They want us to leave Iraq."

Mr. Bush offered no specific information linking the Saudi attacks with the Iraqi elections, scheduled for January 30, notes The Age. But he said the violence fit a pattern in which radicals "will do anything they can to stop democracy."

According to The Age:

Mr. Bush's attempt to draw a connection between the Saudi attack and Iraq struck some foreign policy specialists as an over-simplification that ignored the complicated web of alliances and animosities that characterize the Middle East.

Rather than an attack on democracy, they said, the attack probably stemmed from the long-running struggle by Islamic extremists against Saudi Arabia's undemocratic, Washington-backed monarchy.

Reuters reports that Malaysia, which chairs the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which includes Saudi Arabia, said the attack showed "international terrorism" was still a threat to many nations.

"It is an act of terrorism and we condemn all forms of terrorism," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told reporters at a function in Kuala Lumpur. "I am confident that the Saudi government will be able to deal with the situation."

Newspapers throughout the Middle East have also denounced the attack. Samar Fatany, writes the following in an Arab News commentary piece:

The attack on the US consulate in Jeddah yesterday must surely be deplored by all rational men and women - those who support American policies as well as those who do not. A small minority of militants and extremists must not be allowed to carry out barbarities while sheltering under the banner of Islam. The welfare of the kingdom's guests is a religious duty of the people and leaders of Saudi Arabia.

Terrorist acts in all their forms will remain loathsome... Terrorists cells can only work in the dark. They exist where nobody expects them to be. They disguise themselves in different forms so that they may hide. What they lack are human features that make it possible to recognise them... Those supporting terrorism have no future except death.

Monday's assault was the latest in a series of terror-related incidents since suicide attacks killed 35 people at compounds housing foreigners in Riyadh in May of 2003. The BBC provides a timeline of violent incidents since then.

The New York Times notes that Monday's attack in Jeddah "fell exactly a year after the Interior Ministry took the exceptional step of listing the 26 most wanted terrorists linked to Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia" and that 17 of them have been captured or killed in the past year.

Also...
• North Korea 'has six nuclear bombs' ( The Sydney Morning Herald)
• 2 CIA reports offer warnings on Iraq's path ( The New York Times)
• Dutchman held for 'Iraq genocide' ( The BBC)
• What fueled the Saudi raid ( The New York Post)

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