Saudi Arabia: seeking security (catch all)

[Jedburgh]

TWQ, Spring 08: Al Qaeda's Third Front: Saudi Arabia

The war in Saudi Arabia is being waged over the biggest stakes of all: control over Islam's holy cities and oil wealth. Yet, having withdrawn most of its forces from Saudi Arabia in August 2003 after al Qaeda began its war, the United States remains on the margins. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia is waging an aggressive counterattack. How has bin Laden implemented his vision thus far, and how effective has Saudi Arabia's counterterrorist campaign been in stopping him? Has the U.S. military withdrawal from Saudi Arabia had any effect on bin Laden's plan for Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East? What effect has the war had on Saudi Arabia's foreign policy, especially toward its U.S. alliance?

[davidbfpo]

Try: Saudi Arabia showcases its controversial programme to rehabilitate convicted jihadis through art; on this link http://www.frontlineclub.com/club_articles.php?id=319

davidbfpo

[Jedburgh]

International Affairs, Jul 08: Islamist Violence and Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia

....In this article I posit that Saudi Islamism is a heterogeneous phenomenon which needs to be broken down into smaller components, each to be analysed separately. One recent study identified three distinct Islamist currents in the Kingdom: rejectionism (or extreme pietism), represented by Juhayman al-Utaybi and the 1979 Mecca incident; reformism, which produced the so-called Sahwa movement of the early 1990s; and jihadism, associated with the Saudi fighters in foreign conflict zones. In the following, I will apply the social movement theory perspective specifically to the Saudi jihadist movement. I will trace the evolution of Saudi jihadism since the 1980s and try to explain why it ‘came home’ in 2003 and not before. The findings derive from analysis of a large collection of jihadist texts and videos, as well as extensive fieldwork conducted in Saudi Arabia between 2004 and 2007. After outlining the origin and characteristics of the Saudi jihadist movement, I will look at Al-Qaeda’s foothold in, and strategy towards, Saudi Arabia between 1996 and 2001. Finally I will explain why the QAP campaign was launched and why it eventually failed.....