Saudi Arabia, Friend or FOE?

Remember when the terrorists bombed the barracks at Dhahran? If you were real quick and listened to the right news you heard where the Saudis arrested at least one individual who was said to be involved in the bombing, gave them a quick court appearance and they quickly executed. The belief was that they knew things about the Saudi government and they wanted to be sure our government never found out about it. I made a search on the internet but couldn't find reference to this, now. Anyone who does please contact me, I have a very slow internet line and it takes me forever to look anything up.

There is more to this, a lot more. I will add info as I have time and it becomes available.

It was 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT, 1730 EDT) in late June, time for many in the military housing facility at Saudi Arabia's King Abdul Aziz Air Base to turn in for the night, when a suspicious fuel tanker pulled up near the perimeter.

Some immediately sensed danger, but there was little time to respond. A thunderous explosion followed seconds later, as some 5,000 pounds of explosives packed into the truck went off, drilling a crater 35 feet deep and ripping the front off an apartment building.

That act of terrorism cost 19 American lives and injured scores of others, including Saudis and Bangladeshis.

It was the deadliest bombing involving U.S. citizens in the Middle East since the 1983 Beirut attack that killed 241 Americans, and the second time in less than a year in Saudi Arabia that Americans had been targeted.

In this special section, CNN Interactive brings you selected highlights of our coverage of the tragedy and its aftermath.

http://search.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/10/08/p11s1.htm

Coming clean on terrorism

On December 21, 1988, a bomb blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and 270 persons - 189 of them Americans - were killed. On June 25, 1996, a truck bomb exploded outside a building housing American air personnel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and 19 Americans were killed, hundreds wounded.

These were among the two worst incidents of anti-American terrorism in this era. And, thanks in part to the pressure of the victims' families, the search for the culprits has never ceased.

Lockerbie was believed to bear the fingerprints of Muammar Qaddafi of Libya. Two suspects in the bombing took refuge in Libya. After years of sanctions and other pressures, Mr. Qaddafi finally delivered the two to be tried in the Netherlands, starting next February. Qaddafi presumably has reason to believe that they will not implicate him.

Dhahran has been an even more frustrating story. For years the Saudi investigators withheld information and witnesses from the FBI until last June, when the FBI simply pulled out its agents with a blast against the Saudi overnment for lack of cooperation. Since then the Saudis have announced the end of their investigation, but have refused to release the results.

American intelligence sources say they understand the probable reason for the Saudis' bizarre behavior. Indications are that the bombing was carried out by the Saudi Shiites, trained and equipped by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. And Saudi Arabia has no desire to pick a fight with the tough guys in Tehran.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/terrorism6.html

Khobar Towers

In June 2001, the U.S. Justice Department issued a 46-count indictment against 14 people, 13 Saudi Arabian Shiites and a Lebanese man, in the attack. U.S. authorities have also accused the Iranian government of direct involvement in the bombing. Four of the suspects were placed on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list on Oct. 10, 2001.