Author: Editorial
Publication: The Japan Times
Date: May 16, 2003
URL: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/geted.pl5?ed20030516a1.htm
The series of car-bomb attacks that
devastated Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier this week is a horrific reminder
that victories in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to have only a limited
impact on the war against terrorism. More troubling is the likelihood of
attacks intensifying in the weeks ahead. Although no one has taken credit
for the savagery, al-Qaeda is the prime suspect. While Westerners appear
to have been the primary target, the blasts were also aimed at the Saudi
government. Indeed, the Saudi royal family is the real target. The devastation
is proof, once again, that no one can opt out of the war against terrorism.
This is not "someone else's" fight.
This week's attacks -- car bombings
in a foreigners' compound -- had the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda operation.
The organization and precision indicate that the attacks were well-planned
as it employed nearly two dozen men in 10 vehicles. Three coordinated strikes
took place only minutes apart and were almost identical in style. In each,
a car approached an entrance to the residential area. Gunmen in the car
then shot their way into the guardhouse, and lowered protective barriers.
A second vehicle entered the compound, detonating the explosives it was
carrying. The attacks killed several dozen people and wounded nearly 200.
The damage was extensive: One bomb left a crater nearly seven meters in
diameter. Cars and small homes were destroyed by the blasts, which spewed
debris nearly 100 meters.
The assault is a message from al-Qaeda
that it has not been defeated. Various governments have confessed that
they had warnings of an attack in recent weeks, and were taking the information
seriously. That the terrorists succeeded is a reminder that the odds are
stacked in favor of the killers: Governments win only by preventing all
attacks; terrorists win by penetrating defenses just once.
The car bombings were condemned
by governments around the world, from Australia to Iran. Even Islamic religious
authorities called the attacks un- Islamic. The Saudi government, along
with its ally, the United States, promised to catch and punish the perpetrators.
Success will depend on greater cooperation and coordination between the
two governments than has been the case with past investigations.
Foreigners were the immediate target
of this week's attacks. It is estimated that up to 35,000 expatriates live
in Saudi Arabia. Some, like those in one compound, are U.S. military advisers
and personnel, providing training and assistance to the Riyadh government.
Many others are ordinary business personnel and their families. They come
from Britain, the Philippines and Turkey.
Some of the residents were Saudi
Arabians -- and it is fair to say the terrorists' real target is the government
in Riyadh. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's original complaint, in the
fatwa issued more than a decade ago, was that the Saudi government had
allowed Westerners to defile the holiest sites of Islam by their presence.
Islamic fundamentalists condemn the Riyadh government as corrupt and un-Islamic.
They charge that its readiness to do business with the West and to support
U.S. efforts against Muslim nations is proof of its apostasy.
Saudi Arabia has been slow to accept
that it could be in harm's way. For years, the government thought it could
buy the support of the fundamentalists at home by financing their activities
elsewhere in the world. Some members of the royal family no doubt share
the fundamentalists' view; others may be more opportunistic, sensing that
the tide is changing and that it is better to be on the side of the winners.
The fight is likely to intensify.
The U.S. government has recently announced that it will be removing its
forces from Saudi Arabia. The victory in Iraq means that the controversial
deployment can end and can be shifted elsewhere in the region. The decision
could strengthen the Saudi government by eliminating the Islamicists' chief
complaint. The bombing may be al-Qaeda's attempt to show that it -- not
the Saudi government -- has forced the U.S. decision. Hezbollah acted similarly
when Israel decided to unilaterally withdraw from Lebanon.
The terrorists smell opportunity.
They sense weakness in Saudi Arabia, as the government's chief protector,
the U.S., harbors increasing doubts about its ally's utility at a time
of tectonic shifts in Persian Gulf geopolitics. The U.S. is now weighing
the price of its support for the government in Saudi Arabia. To cut its
losses would be as shortsighted as the Saudi decision to keep its distance
from al-Qaeda's battle with the West. It is a lesson for us all in the
fight against terrorism.
