[Excerpt: Al-Faqih said the insurgents have changed their focus from attacking foreigners and security forces to attacking oil installations and the royal family itself...."The fact that there have been extensive security checks all over Saudi Arabia in recent weeks means that the regime definitely does not have the situation under control," he said....Tawfiq al-Saif, a London-based expert in the Saudi affairs, told Aljazeera that the Saudi....government has underestimated "the scale of the enemy"....But he said the recent elections have created a new atmosphere of openness in the country and have given people hope that reform is about to happen.]
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AD05D584-1F4C-492E-A60E-399FDC551683.htm Saudi analysts say insurgency still alive Monday 04 April 2005, 22:44 Makka Time, 19:44 GMT A shootout in a town in northern Saudi Arabia proves the kingdom's anti-government insurgency is still alive despite a recent period of calm, according to analysts. Saudi security forces killed eight insurgents in a siege in al-Ras on Monday, security sources said. One Saudi policeman was also killed. The confrontation was the first major firefight between authorities and anti-monarchy insurgents in months. The Saudi authorities say recent municipal elections have undermined the little support the insurgents once had. But Saad al-Faqih, a Saudi opposition activist based in London, told Aljazeera.net that the insurgents' fierce resistance proves al-Qaida-linked fighters remain determined to overthrow the monarchy. "The jihadis will not be influenced by things like sham elections," he said. Security checks "The security forces have succeeded in making life difficult for them but this has been counterbalanced by the fact that Iraq is acting as an effective shelter for around 3000 Saudis opposed to the government. This means that the regime's opponents are more dangerous than ever." Al-Faqih said the insurgents have changed their focus from attacking foreigners and security forces to attacking oil installations and the royal family itself. "The fact that there have been extensive security checks all over Saudi Arabia in recent weeks means that the regime definitely does not have the situation under control," he said. Tawfiq al-Saif, a London-based expert in the Saudi affairs, told Aljazeera that the Saudi government has underestimated "the scale of the enemy". But he said the recent elections have created a new atmosphere of openness in the country and have given people hope that reform is about to happen. Elections He added that an economic upturn and political advances in Iraq have swept the rug from underneath the "extremist movements". Nevertheless, he warned that the increase in Saudi youths going to Iraq to either fight or train and the growth in arms smuggling into the kingdom is worrying. Violence blamed on al-Qaida since May 2003 has killed 90 civilians, according to official Saudi figures. Thirty-nine members of the security forces and 92 fighters have also been killed. The Saudi government's opponents say the monarchy is dictatorial, corrupt and beholden to the West. On the other hand, the monarchy says the insurgents have little support and are trying to create chaos in the nation. Aljazeera enditem ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
