Saudi Arabia: A Weak Link in the War on Islamic Terrorism?

Fire of Liberty

Amir Taheri has a great column in The New York Post on how various Islamic terrorists have been following the advice of Ayman al-Zawahiri and have began a campaign of attacking Islamic states in the region like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. As Taheri notes in his column, the terrorists are running into severe headaches with the US military and local forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have also failed to make any headway in Pakistan due to the commanding presence of Pervez Musharraf and the outstanding professionalism and steadfastness of the Pakistani Military. With all of these roadblocks before them, Taheri notes that these terrorists have embarked on the easiest target which is Saudi Arabia. Just to understand the magnetic appeal of the Saudi Kingdom, just read the following paragraphs from what Taheri's column:

This is why the terror campaign in the kingdom appears to have moved beyond its initial stage of "propaganda through action" and into a new phase that looks like a military-style effort designed to seize and hold territory which could then be transformed into bases and safe havens.

This was evident in at least three areas (Duwaisar, al-Unaizah and Ras) in the Qassim heartland of Najd, where Saudi forces last week fought regular battles with terrorist forces entrenched in what looked like permanent operational bases. According to Saudi sources, the terror movement had also acquired a number of safe havens in the Jowf province, in northern Saudi Arabia, which also served for the smuggling of fighters and arms into Iraq.

As elsewhere, a majority of the terrorists appear to have spent some time in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. After the liberation of Afghanistan, these individuals poured into the kingdom and went underground until the al-Zawahiri strategy required them to emerge and move onto the offensive. Of the estimated 200 or so terrorists killed or captured by the Saudis since 2002, fewer than a dozen appear to have been new recruits to the cause.

I just hope the Saudi's stand up to these forces. Instead of the much feared Saudi radicals taking control of the Kingdom (excuse the regime uses to prevent the furthering of political freedoms) the Saudi's have to confront the terrorists who enter the Saudi Kingdom from the other nations in the region. Know don't think for a moment that I'm giving the Saudi's a pass because there is also a considerable amount of blame to go towards the Wahabbi/Salafist clerics in Saudi Arabia. Aside from the terrorists, the Saudi's also need to push these Islamic fundamentalists outside of the Mosques and madrassas and end their culture of death teachings. It will take some time but will have to be done to erase such a burgeoning movement. We'll see if they follow through.