Aim is 'to make Americans feel unsafe'

SAUDI ARABIA: The devastating strike on the Riyadh compound could be payback for Saudi Arabia's aggressive campaign to crush militants, writes Michael Jansen

The bombing of the Muhaya residential compound in Riyadh yesterday was the fourth and most spectacular violent incident in Saudi Arabia since the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan two weeks ago.

The other three incidents in Riyadh and the holy city of Mecca took place when security forces pursued armed Islamic militants, killing five and capturing an unknown number.

The devastating strike on the compound by the militants is considered by some analysts to be payback or retribution for the aggressive campaign to crush the Islamists. That campaign was launched by the regime in May after 35 people, nine of them US citizens, were killed in a similar operation directed against compounds housing Westerners.

Dr Saad al-Faqih, the London-based head of a Saudi democracy movement, dismissed reports that the compound was a "soft target" and the attack was carried out by suicide bombers. He told The Irish Times the compound was "very well protected by the Saudi army. It is a top security compound." He said it was a well-planned operation.

The perpetrators penetrated the compound in cars resembling police cars and dressed as Saudi police. They left the cars and fled the compound before detonating the explosives by remote control.

In his view, the only underground Islamist group operating in the kingdom which is capable of mounting such an operation is al-Qaeda. "The smaller groups don't really matter," he said.

This compound, containing villas housing Arab professionals working in the kingdom, seems to have been chosen to send a message to members of the Saudi ruling family who have homes in the prosperous neighbourhood, particularly the Interior Minister, Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, and to residents of the diplomatic quarter a short distance away.

By hitting a fortified site at the heart of the capital, the militants seek to refute claims by official spokesmen that the security situation is under control thanks to the detention of 600 Islamists over the past four months and the ongoing offensive against militant organisations.

Dr al-Faqih said the operation was designed "to make the Americans feel unsafe in the kingdom, the holy land of Muslims where al-Qaeda says non-Muslims unwelcome, and to make the regime appear unstable and unable to maintain security."

He said the monarchy was "obsessed with security and stability" because it fears the US, which has acted as its guarantor for more than half a century, could end its support.

He expressed surprise, however, that the militants "are still attacking compounds" where foreign civilians reside, particularly Arabs and Muslims. "Such attacks are not welcomed by the \ public. I would have thought al-Qaeda would have avoided compounds. Action against US interests is more acceptable."

Dr al-Faqihid said Osama bin Laden "is very conscious of public perceptions. He has not targeted the royal family, for instance, because he does not want this to backfire."

While Lebanese and Syrian survivors of the blast have expressed dismay that Muslim Arabs should be targeted, other commentators suggest it is possible that the perpetrators of this bombing wish to hit any outsiders whom they believe are taking jobs Saudis should fill.

Unemployment is soaring among Saudi youth, 60 per cent of the population, while foreigners - from the Arab world, the Indian subcontinent and the Philippines - constitute more than half the workforce.

Al-Qaeda and other militant Islamist groupings recruit their members from among the undereducated, unemployable, jobless disaffected Saudi youth.

Saudi reformers see the lack of democracy and modern education and high levels of unemployment as the main causes of militancy.

They argue that the monarchy should cede absolute power, the existing appointed Consultative Council should be transformed into an elected body with legislative powers, the judiciary should be granted independence and institutions of civil society should be created.

They argue that the government's recently announced plan to permit limited popular participation in municipal and regional councils and the Consultative Council through staged elections over the next three years is too little, too late.

Last month, the Saudi authorities detained scores of reformers who staged unprecedented demonstrations in Riyadh.

Prince Nayef rejected the connection between democracy and militancy made by reformers saying there was "no link" between a lack of democracy and terrorism. He claimed there was democracy in the kingdom and insisted that political reform must be compatible with the principles of Islamic law.

He accused some reformers of being opportunists seeking to secure vested interests and others of proposing the abandonment of "Islamic values."

He vowed that the kingdom would adhere to its own "culture and methods".