Saudi Arabia has announced they have foiled a terrorist plot and arrested 172 suspected terrorists in connection. The plot involved hijacking airplanes and flying those planes into the nations many oil reserves in an effort to cripple the global economy and certainly the state of Saudi Arabia.
The ministry issued a statement saying the detainees were planning to carry out suicide atttacks [sic] against “public figures, oil facilities, refineries … and military zones” — some of which were outside the kingdom.
“They had reached an advance stage of readiness and what remained only was to set the zero hour for their attacks,” Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour al-Turki told The Associated Press in a phone call. “They had the personnel, the money, the arms. Almost all the elements for terror attacks were complete except for setting the zero hour for the attacks.”
The militants also planned to storm Saudi prisons to free the inmates, the statement said. (source)
Thirty-two million dollars was also confiscated in the raid. Not every suspected terrorist was as a Saudi, though the majority were.
Let those numbers sink in for a little while. One hundred seventy-two terrorists and $32 million involved in a plot that would have completely devastated one entire nation and most likely many others. On top of all of that, the group was engaged in and apparently had succeeded sending operatives to receive flight training.
Reuters reports there were seven cells involved, therefore meaning there was not one group. The BBC also reports there were cells involved but does not give a number for them, and NBC does the same. The Associated Press, not so much.
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gary - 
Lars - 
Chad - 
Harry F. Langhorne - 
Kenneth Dean ex 1 BFTS -
I’ve got some folks trying to say this was all a PR stunt, staged for the media by the Saudis and the US. For what purpose? To take heat off the debate in Congress over the war, troop pull outs, etc. I don’t buy it, I’ve read all the reports and this sounds real to me.
Comment by Debbie — Saturday, April 28, 2007 @ 10:04 am CDT
That’s ridiculous. If they thought it was a stunt pulled by the Saudis for the Saudis, there might be something to it.
How much of a diversion is this, and is Congress voting for a withdrawal really that big of news? Everyone knew they were going to vote that way, and everyone knows Bush will veto it. The press is still covering the vote more than the arrests in Saudi Arabia by far. If another item is to divert anoter, usually that item would be covered more than the other. It’s not.
There are much easier ways to divert the national debate away from the Congressional vote without involving another sovereign nation.
Comment by Chad — Saturday, April 28, 2007 @ 11:14 am CDT
Of course I agree with you, but you know how it is. They say every time we trot out another ‘high value target’ that we have been interrogating for a time, we’re accused of doing it at a time when we need some positive PR. Everybody’s entitled to their opinions I guess.
Comment by Debbie — Saturday, April 28, 2007 @ 1:11 pm CDT