Saudi Arabia versus Terrorists; Why Terrorists Lose
by Dr. W. David Currie

In May 2003, we learned that Saudi Arabia is susceptible to acts of terrorism.

Do Saudi's fear terrorism? Certainly!  Many members of the Saudi royal family have what most Americans would consider "limitless" cash reserves.  But maintaining the cash flow to support the extensive royal family, with its 30,000 members, requires that the Saudi's keep their oil flowing at a rate in the order of hundreds of millions of barrels of oil daily.  We have suspected for several years that the Saudi's have been passively supporting terrorists outside of Saudi Arabia, through shady financial enterprises thought to have been set up by terrorists.  The Saudi economy, and the financial well-being of the royal family, is at the very least, extremely susceptible to acts of terrorism.  Perhaps quiet financial support of terrorists by Saudi Arabia has kept home-grown terrorism at bay.  Certainly, we know there are plenty of foreign dissidents in Iraq who seem to have some expertise at blowing up oil pipelines.

The Saudi empire is a monarchy, with thousands of princes.  Many members of the royal family are well known for living beyond the realm of behavior considered appropriate by the Muslim clergy.  Members of the royal family are not only at risk for kidnapping because of their "cash value."  As a group, the royal family risks dissent from Muslim fundamentalists who see their increasingly western behaviors as religious transgressions.  There are at least a few thousand Saudi's (princes) with what most Americans would consider "limitless" power within the confines of the Saudi realm.  Thousands of Saudi's frequently travel abroad, and they depend upon safe airports, safe aircraft, and safe airspace. They face constant risk of dissent from poorly paid workers and the unemployed, many of whom are foreigners living below the poverty line, within the Saudi empire.  Many of those living below the poverty line are young adults, who are undoubtedly unhappy with their lot in life.

The Saudi's rule by Islamic law, and the courts have the option to exact harsh punishments for simple crimes.  A criminal doesn't have to worry about cameras in court... in fact, there are no juries or lawyers in court.  Capital punishment is by beheading... and amputation is another form of punishment used in Saudi Arabia.  Terrorists are criminals, and one should expect that, given the opportunity, they might exact harsh punishments on Saudi government workers and members of the Saudi royal family.

So Saudi Arabia is a small country with a large population of extremely wealthy and vulnerable people.  The financial dealings of members of the Saudi royal family are, no doubt, under increasing international scrutiny because of the suspicion that monies have been funneled to terrorist organizations abroad.  If monetary pipelines to terrorist groups are drying up, there may be some very dissatisfied terrorists returning to the Saudi empire.  Gaining control of even a small fraction of the Saudi oilfields would provide limitless cash to terrorists.

Having said all of this, it appears that the Saudi empire is ready to be toppled by terrorists at any time.  But that is very unlikely to happen.  The Saudi royal family has a much tighter grasp on the population of Saudi Arabia than we might believe from watching the news.  The Saudi's have been spending a huge portion of their annual budget on national security (military spending).  The Saudi's also maintain a cadre of well-trained, well played, and loyal security and military officers.  At the drop of the proverbial hat, the Saudi's could turn off the cameras, carry out house-to-house searches, and mete out on-the-spot punishments.  From a terrorist perspective, however, one might note that, as is the case in Iraq, massive military spending has resulted in huge quantities of military arms and munitions at numerous locations around the country.

The Saudi government may, or may not have the immediate manpower to gain control over a sudden general uprising led by Islamic fundamentalists hidden among the general Saudi population.  But it would be almost impossible for terrorists to direct a sudden uprising of the general population of Saudi Arabia.  The general populace fears the power of the royal family too much.  That means that the Saudi royal family will have plenty of time to respond to any significant elevation in terrorism... in fact, they may have already started to do so.

Given sufficient provocation, the Saudi government would loose the largest purse strings in the world.  Rather than waiting for assistance from the United Nations (which would never arrive... surprised?) or NATO (which might arrive, possibly led by the British), their cash would be directed to high-played mercenaries who would be used to quickly supplant the standing military and security forces.  While it is evident that some people are expecting terrorists to soon gain control of the Saudi oilfields, expect rather that any significant uprising in Saudi Arabia will be put down quickly, with much bloodshed, with much loss of civilian life, with little news making its way into the western media, and with almost no news making its way into the Arab media.