|  Paul
M. Johnson, Jr., Abducted Saturday, June 12,
2004
[info
as of 8:00 am EDT, June 18, 2004]
Saudi hostage
deadline looms
An Arabic network has aired an emotional
statement from the wife of abducted American
Paul Johnson Jr., as the deadline for his
captors' demands approaches. Source: CNN
A group calling
itself al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
kidnapped Johnson from his home Saturday [June
12, 2004] in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The group
released a videotape Tuesday [June 15] of a
blindfolded man, who said he was Johnson and
stated his occupation. The group said it will
execute Johnson within 72 hours -- as early as
Friday [June 18] -- if the Saudi government does
not release jailed al Qaeda detainees. Source: Washington
Post
Paul M. Johnson,
Jr., is an Orlando-based field engineer who has
been working in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, supporting
the Apache program's Target Acquisition and
Designation Sites/Pilot Night Vision System.
Source: Lockheed
Martin
Islamic
Militants Urged to Free Hostage
"A
letter signed by "The Believer" urges
militants to spare American hostage Paul M.
Johnson Jr., saying killing him would violate
Islamic law. "I will curse you in all my
prayers" if he is harmed, it warned.. ..The
letter, signed by Saad al-Mu'men - a pseudonym
meaning "Saad The Believer," -
identified the writer as a Saudi friend of
Johnson's and said he had bestowed his
protection as a Muslim on the American hostage.
." [more]
 "..Johnson's
kidnappers said in a video and a written
statement on a Web site Tuesday that Saudi
authorities would have 72 hours to respond to
their demands or Johnson would be killed.
The 72 hours ends sometime Friday; the
kidnappers did not specify what time the
countdown began or when it ends.." [more]
Relatives
Go To Mass Media In Effort to Get Captive Freed
(Washington
Post)
Abductors
Threaten to Kill U.S. Hostage in Saudi Arabia
(Washington Post)
Kidnapped
American's situation 'grim' (CNN)
Saudi
Hostage's Family Attends Vigil (AP)
Saudi
police search Riyadh for information about
American hostage (Newsday)
FBI,
Saudi authorities search for kidnapped man as
afternoon deadline nears (AP)
Saudis
Wrestle With Qaeda Demons (Time)
Army
link key to Saudi attacks on Americans (smh.com.au)
 Wyche
Fowler
Former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
June 17, 2004
MSNBC "Hardball"
Pete
Williams: Joining me now is a man who served
as ambassador to Saudi Arabia probably as long
as any other American, former Senator Wyche
Fowler who was there for four and a half years
from 1996 to 2001. Senator Fowler, I'm
sure as you watch this from afar it has to be as
agonizing for you as anyone. Are you
confident that the Saudis are doing everything
they can to resolve this situation.
Wyche Fowler:
I am confident and I think as you just
reported the United States is working with them,
probably putting in considerable resources to
try to save Mr. Johnson. We're all praying
that somehow he can be released unharmed. Three
weeks ago, in that terrible tragedy
in Dhahran at the Oases Compound the Saudi
security forces when they raided it actually
saved about 70 western hostages and freed them.
Some were killed. But many were saved and
I'm hoping that's going to be the outcome this
time.
Pete
Williams: As you know since April the US
Government's position, the State
Department through its warnings, has been
the Americans in Saudi Arabia should get out.
Is that the right message for the American
government to be sending do you think?
Wyche Fowler:
No, I think that's a mistake. I think
you've got to fight terrorists where they are.
Under the President and the Administration they
are certainly firm that we're not going to let
terrorists run us out of Iraq or dictate any of
our decision making processes there helping the
Iraqi people. I had hoped that in light of
the attacks of the last few weeks that we would
go to the aid of the Saudis, put in more
resources, help them militarily, with our
intelligence, and with actual manpower if
necessary. Because the last thing in the
world we're going to do is let terrorists run us
out of Saudi Arabia. Asking American
companies to go home when they don't want to do
so -- I think we should strengthen the
communication, the alliance and the security
both with the private sector and the public
sector. But no I think this is a bad
signal and a bad message.
Pete
Williams: You say you don't want the signal
to be to allow the terrorists to run us out of
the Arabian Peninsula, out of Saudi Arabia.
But are they doing that in slow motion now?
There's something like, what, 35,000 American
contract workers there now. Is that down
considerably from when you were there?
 Wyche
Fowler: Not considerably. My
understanding -- of course I don't have the
latest figures -- but in talking to corporate
American leadership who have been doing business
in Saudi Arabia for 20, 30, some of them 40
years, most of them have not left. They
know the danger. Their employees know the
danger. They have tightened their security.
They have tightened their coordination with the
both the Saudis -- who are really the ones
protecting American interests there -- but also
in very close coordination
with the Embassy. But, they do not
want to leave under present circumstances.
They realize Americans have become a target.
The truth of the matter is Americans basically
are unsafe everywhere in the world now.
Pete
Williams: Indeed American workers have been
shot in Pakistan, they've been kidnapped in the
Philippines, they're threatened everywhere.
But what is your sense of it, because you spent
so much time there and got extraordinarily close
to Saudi leaders? We have heard a great
deal since September 11 that in Saudi schools,
for example, there's still a virulent form of
anti-Americanism that is taught to young people.
Is that still the case do you think? And,
is that the problem here?
Wyche Fowler:
Well, it certainly was a large part of the
problem. The foreign
minister, the Saudi leadership and several
monitoring groups have said that most of the
offensive material, to anybody, have been
cleaned up in the latest editions of most of the
school books. Is it 100%? Can you
eliminate anti-American, anti-Christian,
anti-Jewish sermons from every mosque in Saudi
Arabia overnight? No. But I am
convinced and more importantly many
international monitoring groups, just like on
the charities, are convinced the Saudis mean
business. They know they're under attack,
they know they have got to change, they know
they have got to reform their education system
and they're doing it as fast as they can.
It might not be as fast as everyone wants.
Pete
Williams: They didn't exactly get a head
start?
Wyche Fowler:
They did not get a head start. They
started with one foot in the bucket. It
took them a long time to understand there was a
link between what was going on, this extremism,
and what was being taught in the schools.
Pete
Williams: Mr. Ambassador, do you think that
if you were a potential American worker -- you
had been recruited by one of these companies, a
family member of yours. Would you advise
them to go now to Saudi Arabia? Is it
quote/unquote safe to go to there and work for
an American company?
Wyche Fowler:
Well, I don't want to pit my individual
judgment against the collective judgment of the
State Department and the Administration. That
has to be an individual decision -- certainly an
individual decision by employers and companies
as to whether or not they're going to stay
there.
Pete
Williams: What I mean is do you think this
is a temporary thing or is this something we're
going to see more of?
Wyche Fowler:
Well, it depends on who you're going to
believe. The Saudis say they think this is
the last gasp. They've broken up so many
cells, they've captured so many people, they've
killed and jailed so many people. These
random acts are the only things left of the
al-Qaeda organization. I'm not sure that's
true. But, you know terrorism is sort of
like rape and murder. You can't ever totally
eliminate it. You don't know what the
grievance is that would make someone go out and
shoot somebody. But you've got to contain
it and you have got to make progress. But
you don't want to run away from it or it will
continue to flourish.
Pete
Williams: From zero to 100 percent, where is
the Saudi government now in fighting terror.
Wyche Fowler:
They're past 50 percent. The reason is
the terrorists have been attacking these
compounds where there are Muslim women and
children. That has brought the Saudi
population -- a lot of them sort of liked the
bin Laden's of the world -- go around saying
let's punch America in the nose. But now
that they're killing innocent Muslims and Saudis
they're saying "wait a minute these are not
our kind of people." So the citizenry
I believe has moved over the line and is
supporting the Saudi government in eliminating
this stuff.
Pete
Williams: Mr. Ambassador, thank you for your
time.
Related
Resources
"Saudi
Suicide Bombings Work Against Al Qaeda," by
Wyche Fowler & Edward S. Walker, MEI
Perspective, May 15, 2003 (Reprinted in Saudi-US
Relations Information Service)
http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/defense/saudi-bombings.html
About
Ambassador
Wyche Fowler, Jr., Chairman, Middle East
Institute
Ambassador Fowler, a former U.S. Senator (D-Ga.),
was ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1996 to
2001. He previously served in the U.S. Senate,
1986-1993, as a member of the Senate
Appropriations, Budget, Energy and Agriculture
Committees. Fowler was elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives in 1977; member of the Ways
and Means and Foreign Affairs Committees, the
Committee of Intelligence, and the Congressional
Arts Caucus. He practiced law in Atlanta for
eight years prior to election. Fowler is an
expert on Saudi Arabia and Middle East affairs.
Attacks
on Expats in June 2004
Kenneth
Scroggs -- Shot and killed -- Riyadh, June
12, 2004
American
Kenneth Scroggs, who worked for a defense
technology firm, was gunned down as he pulled
into the garage of his home in Riyadh. [more]
Robert
Jacob -- Shot and killed -- June 8, 2004 --
Riyadh
Gunmen killed an
American by shooting him nine times in the head
at his home [in Riyadh, June 8].. ..The victim
worked for Vinnell Corp., a US defense
contractor, the company confirmed. [more]
Simon Cumbers
-- Shot and killed; Frank Gardner -- shot
and wounded -- June 5, 2004 -- Riyadh
The BBC's
security correspondent Frank Gardner was
critically injured and his cameraman Simon
Cumbers was killed yesterday when they came
under fire in a Riyadh neighborhood notorious
for militants. [more]
Also See:
"The
Attack in AlKhobar, Saudi Arabia: Reflections on
'Tolerance'," by John Duke Anthony,
Saudi American Forum
Dad
Loved Saudi Arabia and Its People: Frank Floyd
Jr. by Barbara Ferguson, Arab News -- a
profile of one of the victims of the May 29,
2004 attack in Khobar.
|
SUSRIS
Terrorism Timeline - 2004
Events
|
June
13, 2004 - Al-Qaeda terrorists in
Saudi Arabia kidnapped American
engineer Paul Marshal Johnson, an
employee of Lockheed Martin. A
statement purporting to be from
Al-Qaeda threatened to treat the
abducted American as U.S. troops
treated Iraqi prisoners -- a reference
to sexual and other abuses at Abu
Ghraib prison in Iraq. Another
American, Kenneth Scroggs, was gunned
down by the same group. [more]
June
8, 2004 - Terrorists gunned down
Robert Jacob, an American working for
Vinnell Corp., a U.S. defense
contractor in Riyadh. [more]
 June
5, 2004 - The BBC's security
correspondent Frank Gardner was
critically injured and his cameraman
Simon Cumbers was killed when they
came under fire in a Riyadh
neighborhood notorious for militants.
[more]
June
4, 2004 - Saudi
Arabia's top religious authority,
Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al
al-Sheik, issued an edict urging
citizens and residents to inform
authorities about suspected militants
planning terror activities. [more]
June
2, 2004 - In a bid to crack down
on financing of terrorist groups,
Saudi Arabia in a joint press
conference with US officials announced
it was dissolving the Al-Haramain
Charitable Foundation and other
private groups and creating a
commission to manage private
charitable work abroad. [more]
June
2, 2004 - Saudi security forces
gunned down two terror suspects in a
gunbattle at Hada near Taif. The pair
were linked to the recent attacks in
Alkhobar. [more]
May
29, 2004 - Attack in Khobar - Four
gunmen attacked compounds housing oil
workers in Khobar, Eastern Province,
Saudi Arabia at about 7:30 a.m. (0430
GMT). Hostages were being held
at one compound. Saudi officials
said 16 people have been killed in the
attacks. Al Qaeda has claimed
responsibility. [more]
May
27, 2004 - A top Al Qaida leader
[Abdulaziz Al Muqrin] in Saudi Arabia
issued a battle plan for an urban
guerrilla war in the kingdom. Al
Muqrin, gave a detailed list of steps
militants should take to succeed in
their violent campaign against the
Saudi government. [more]
May
20, 2004 - Saudi security forces
today killed four terrorist suspects
and injured another in a gunfight in
Qasim Province. The security forces
came under heavy fire from machineguns
after locating five terrorist suspects
in
a rest house in Khudairah,
a
village in the area of Buraidah. One
security officer was killed and two
were injured in the incident. Weapons
and ammunition were confiscated.
 May
1, 2004 - Gunmen killed at least six
people in an attack on a Western oil
company office in the Red Sea city of
Yanbu. [more]
April
29, 2004 - U.S. State Department's
annual report, "Patterns of
Global Terrorism - 2003," praised
Saudi Arabia's commitment to the war
against global terrorism, "I
would cite Saudi Arabia as an
excellent example of a nation
increasingly focusing its political
will to fight terrorism. Saudi Arabia
has launched an aggressive,
comprehensive, and unprecedented
campaign to hunt down terrorists,
uncover their plots, and cut off their
sources of funding.." [more]
April
24, 2004 - King
Fahd characterized the April 21 attack
as "the work of a deviant few who
wanted to undermine the country,
terrorize peaceful people and kill
Muslims." [more]
April
22, 2004 - Saudi Security forces
killed five terror suspects, including
two of the country's most wanted men,
during raids. [more]
April
22, 2004 - The Al Haramin (the
holy sites) Brigades claimed
responsibility on web sites for the
April 21 Riyadh suicide bombing.
April
22, 2004 - Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz
al-Sheik, the kingdom's highest
religious authority, condemned the
attack "as one of the greatest
sins" and said the attackers will
be "burned in hell." [more]
April
21, 2004 - Terrorists launched a
suicide car bomb attack April 21, 2004
against Saudi Arabian government
buildings in Riyadh. Five people
were killed and over 150 were wounded
in the attack. [more]
April
19, 2004 - Saudi security forces
seized two vehicles loaded with
explosives north of Riyadh.
Three other explosive laden vehicles
were seized in the last two days, one
of which has been sought since
February. [more]
April
18, 2004 - Eight
terror suspects linked to violent
clashes with security forces in the
capital are arrested. Three large
vehicle bombs - each with over a ton
of explosives on board - are defused.
[more]
April
15, 2004 - Evacuation is ordered
for most U.S. diplomats in Saudi
Arabia - "The United States [Apr.
15] ordered the evacuation of most
U.S. diplomats and all U.S. family
dependents from Saudi Arabia, and
"strongly urged" all
American citizens to leave because of
"credible and specific"
intelligence about terrorist attacks
planned against U.S. and other Western
targets, the State Department
announced. [more]
April
13, 2004 - Four
policemen are killed by machine-gun
fire in two attacks on the road
linking
Riyadh
and
Qasim. The first of two
explosive-laden cars is discovered.
Gunmen open fire at officers at a
checkpoint on the road to Qasim.
Police defuse two car bombs and seize
a third car loaded with arms. [more]
April
12, 2004 - A member of the
security forces is killed and a
terrorist gunned down during a clash
in eastern
Riyadh
. [more]
April
8, 2004 - Al-Qaeda chief in Saudi
Arabia vows to eject U.S. from Arabian
Peninsula. [more]
April
5, 2004 - Saudi security forces
shot dead a suspected militant and
wounded another during a car chase in
eastern Riyadh neighborhood. [more]
March
24, 2004 - J. Cofer Black,
Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S.
State Department, testified to
Congress, "The
Saudis are a key ally in the Global
War On Terror. Their performance has
not been flawless, and they have a
large task before them, but we see
clear evidence of the seriousness of
purpose and the commitment of the
leadership of the Kingdom to this
fight.." [more]
March
24, 2004 - Juan
C. Zarate, Deputy Assistant Secretary,
Executive Office for Terrorist
Financing & Financial Crimes, U.S.
Department of the Treasury,
testified to Congress, "the
targeting actions and systemic reforms
undertaken by the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia clearly demonstrate its
commitment to work with us and the
international community to combat the
global threat of terrorist
financing.." [more]
March
24, 2004 - Thomas J. Harrington,
Deputy Assistant Director,
Counterterrorism Division, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, testified to
Congress, "The Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia is an important partner in this
international effort and has taken
significant steps to deter global
terrorism.." [more]
 March
19, 2004 - U.S. Secretary of State
Powell meets Saudi officials in
Riyadh, tells press US and Saudi
Arabia are united in war on terror. [more]
March
15, 2004 - Two of Saudi Arabia's
most wanted terror suspects were shot
dead in a shootout with police forces.
[more]
February
28, 2004 - Royal decree to
establish the Saudi National
Commission for Relief and Charity Work
abroad to ensure that terrorist
organizations do not misuse Saudi
donations for humanitarian projects
worldwide. [more]
February
16, 2004 - British Airways has
canceled [Feb 16] flight from London
to Riyadh, for 'security reasons.' [more]
February
14, 2004 - Saudi Arabia's Interior
Ministry offers SR7 million reward for
information leading to the recovery of
a GMC Suburban loaded with explosives.
[more]
February
13, 2004 - The
Interior Ministry warns residents in
the capital against a possible
terrorist attack. It says that a car
laden with explosives registered to a
wanted suspect could be used in the
attack. [more]
January
22, 2004 - US Treasury Secretary
John W. Snow told a Washington news
conference, "The
United States
and
Saudi Arabia
share a deep commitment to fighting
the spread of terrorism in all its
forms.. ..Like the
United States
, the Saudis have been victims of al-Qaida.
They are an important partner in the
war on terrorist financing, and have
taken important and welcome steps to
fight terrorist financing."
[more]
January
3, 2004 - Brig. Gen. Hadi Mabjer
Al-Sahli, chairman of the military
council at the border guards command
in the Jizan region was found shot
dead in front of his house. [more]
|
Note:
For the complete SUSRIS Terrorism Timeline click
here.
|
