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GOVERNMENT VOWS
TO STAMP OUT TERRORISM
"Saudi Arabia declared [May 19] it was capable of stamping out
terrorism with the cooperation of other countries� �Addressing the
first meeting of the Cabinet after last week's "horrendous"
bombings in Riyadh, the crown prince insisted that the attacks would
not affect the Kingdom's security and stability�" Complete
report�
SAUDI ENVOY
FEARS ANOTHER MAJOR ATTACK
"A senior Saudi official said [May 19] he believed the suicide
bombers who struck Riyadh last week were planning a much bigger
operation and he feared another devastating attack� �Prince Bandar
said U.S. and Saudi intelligence were picking up 'a high level of
(electronic) chatter, regionally and in other international spots',
which could indicate that something else was being planned�" Complete
report�
REFORMS
CRITICAL FOR PROGRESS: KING FAHD
"Saudi Arabia announced [May 17] that it would go ahead with its
reform programs, broaden the scope of popular participation and open
new areas for women to work in� �King Fahd also reaffirmed the
government's resolve to fight terrorism as well as administrative
corruption�" Complete
report�
~~GulfWire Link~~
SAUDIS
CALL FOR REFORMS, TOLERANCE - GWD May 19, 2003
REFORM
DEBATE RAGES IN SAUDI ARABIA - GWD Mar. 10, 2003
KINGDOM ARRESTS FOUR MORE
"In addition to the two Moroccans arrested on [May 19] at Jeddah
International Airport, who security sources had said were planning to
carry out a Sept. 11-style suicide attack after hijacking an aircraft,
US diplomats said yesterday that on [May 20] at least another four
Saudis had been arrested in sweeps� �Some of those arrested on
Tuesday are believed to have been affiliated to Al-Qaeda cells, while
others were in the process of planning further attacks�" Complete
report�
NAIF DENIES
HIJACK BID
"Interior Minister Prince Naif [May 21] denied as 'baseless'
foreign agency reports that security forces had arrested three
Moroccans in Jeddah who were planning to hijack a civilian plane and
carry out a suicide operation� �the minister said police had held
two Moroccans who were wanted for previous security cases�" Complete
report�
GUNMAN HELD AT
US SAUDI OFFICE
"A US consulate in eastern Saudi Arabia has closed to the public
after a gunman was arrested outside its gates, a week after 34 people
died in a series of suicide bombings� �The US State Department
said that an 'armed individual was apprehended at the initial barrier
gate'�" Complete
report�
~~GulfWire Link~~
AMERICAN,
BRITISH SCHOOLS CLOSED TILL FURTHER NOTICE - GWD May 19, 2003
US DIPLOMATIC
POSTS REOPEN
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and U.S. consulates in Dhahran and Jeddah
reopened on May 25 after security related closures according to CNN's
Sheila MacVicar reporting from Riyadh. Source: CNN [May 25]
Also:
SAUDI
TERROR ALERT SHUTS EMBASSIES
US, BRITAIN,
GERMANY CLOSE EMBASSIES
BRITAIN,
GERMANY REOPEN SAUDI EMBASSIES
EXPAT SCHOOLS
CLOSE EN MASSE
SAUDIS
RE-EXAMINE AN ISLAMIC DOCTRINE CITED BY MILITANTS
"...Public debate has undergone a transformation since the
bombings on May 12 that killed 25 people... ...It used to be taboo to
even mention the word Wahhabi in print, and if you said it in
conversation almost any Saudi would deny it existed as a separate
school of thought. That still happens, of course. But the terrorist
attacks in the heart of Riyadh have, at least for the moment,
transformed the discussion about the religious roots of Islamic
militancy and how it spreads through mosques, schools, state
television and other official institutions..." Complete
report...
LAWMAKERS
CRITICIZE SAUDI ARABIA
"U.S. lawmakers from across the political spectrum voiced a
unified message [May 18] to Saudi Arabia: It's time to commit fully to
the international fight against terrorism� �Several lawmakers took
Saudi leaders to task for what they called a failure to act on U.S.
intelligence that had warned before Monday that an attack appeared
imminent�" Complete
report�
~~GulfWire Link~~
SAUDIS
TRIPLE BOMB INQUIRY; VOW JOINT ANTITERROR EFFORT - GWD May 19, 2003
SAUDI DIPLOMAT
ON A SECRET MISSION
"A top Saudi diplomat, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, was dispatched
on a last-minute, secret mission related to the war on terrorism�
�Bandar was sent to an undisclosed location just before he was to
appear on several U.S. television talk shows, explaining the
last-minute cancellations�" Complete
report�
AL QAEDA ARMS
TRACED TO SAUDI NATIONAL GUARD
"Saudi authorities are investigating suspected illegal arms sales
by members of the country's national guard to al Qaeda operatives in
the country� �Problems in the Saudi Arabian National Guard are not
new, according to the officials, and past audits of its armories have
revealed that weapons were missing�" Complete
report�
NO NATIONAL
GUARDSMEN SOLD ARMS TO AL-QAEDA: PRINCE NAIF
"Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, the interior minister has denied the
allegations of the Washington Post newspaper that Saudi Arabia's
National Guardsmen were involved in selling of the arms that were
seized on May 6 in a house belonging to Al-Qaeda cell in Riyadh
city� �The arms we found are not similar to those of the National
Guard, he said�" Complete
report�
SECURITY
SOURCES: SAUDI ARRESTS AL QAEDA SUSPECTS
"Saudi Arabian authorities have arrested three suspected members
of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, security sources said [May 20],
as the United States raised its terror alert status to 'high'�
�The decision to raise the alert level to orange from yellow on the
color-coded scale was made at the White House at a meeting of top
national security officials after a review of recent
intelligence�" Complete
report�
SECURITY
TIGHTENED AMID TERROR THREAT
"Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said here [May 20] that
the Kingdom was increasing security measures with the aim of
preventing further attacks� �Prince Saud stressed that removing
the cause or 'breeding ground' of terrorism was an international
responsibility and suggested that resolving the Palestinian issue
would remove 'a great part of the reasons for terrorism in our
region'�" Complete
report�
~~GulfWire Link~~
US
CRITICIZES SECURITY IN RIYADH - GWD May 19, 2003
RELIGIOUS
POLICE SAY THEY ARE UNFAIRLY TARGETED
"Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Abdullah Al-Ghaith, president of the
Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, has
admitted that his officials may have made mistakes. At the same time,
however, he said his organization had been the victim of false
allegations�" Complete
report�
KING FAHD
UNDERGOES EYE SURGERY
"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd underwent eye
surgery at a hospital here [May 19] and the operation was a success�
�The king was admitted to the Riyadh hospital on [May 18]�" Complete
report�
SCHOOL
CURRICULUM
"A two-day symposium, "Curricula: Principles and
Fundamentals", chaired by Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khaled
Al-Anqari, opens [May 20]. It focuses on ways of modifying and
improving Saudi Arabia's school curriculum, which has been at the
center of a heated world debate following the attacks of Sept. 11 and
the revelation that 15 of the 19 hijackers who carried them out were
Saudi nationals�" Complete
report�
~~GulfWire Link~~
ANQARI
REJECTS ATTACKS ON CURRICULUM AS UNFOUNDED - GWD Feb. 11, 2002
SAUDI
TEXTBOOKS LACK GLOBAL DIMENSION
"In a paper presented on [May 21] during a conference on
developing curricula held at King Saud University, Professor Reima
Sado Al-Jarf recommended reviewing and restructuring Saudi history
books and adding global perspectives to them� �The study also
finds that all these books lack objectivity especially when
approaching subjects such as communism, Orientalism, evangelism and
Arab nationalism�" Complete
report�
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KINGDOM
TO FOSTER MODERATE IMAGE OF ISLAM, SAYS ABDULLAH
"Saudi Arabia has set up a special committee of experts
to promote a moderate image of Islam, Crown Prince Abdullah
announced [May 21]� � Highlighting the moderate views of
Islam, Prince Abdullah said he had openly criticized those
scholars who follow the extremist line while giving their
edicts and opinions�" Complete
report�
CONFRONT
SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISLAM
"Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed [May 19] urged
Islamic organizations in the Kingdom and abroad to
coordinate their efforts to spread the message of Islam and
confront the smear campaigns against the religion and its
followers�" Complete
report�
Also:
PR
DRIVE PLANNED TO COUNTER SMEAR CAMPAIGN
~~GulfWire Link~~
NAIF
CALLS FOR STRONG ARAB MEDIA TO COUNTER SMEAR CAMPAIGN - GWD
Jan. 20, 2003
YOUNG
SAUDIS REFLECT ON FALLOUT
"Disbelief and fear marked the local reaction to the
terrorist attack in Riyadh last week. Many are now waking up
to the fact that the terrorists are Saudis, and a process of
soul-searching is beginning, particularly among younger
Saudis�" Complete
report�
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