Al Qaeda Fouls its Nest

[selenite0]

Dozens at least have died in a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia. This was a very large attack, with three carbombs attacking different areas simultaneously and gunmen clearing the way for the bombs to get into key areas. This seems to be a classic Al Qaeda attack--large, coordinated across several targets, and aiming for American and other civilians.

This actually makes me more optimistic about the war. Al Qaeda must be desperate if they're fouling their nest. Saudi Arabia is where they get their recruits, their financing, their spiritual inspiration, their money, and probably a lot of their weapons. It's like the IRA Provos blowing up something in Boston. I don't think they'd've struck there if they could still do a spectacular elsewhere. So far Al Qaeda has struck as hard as they can whenever they could, so I can't imagine they were holding something back--if they had WMDs or active cells in America they would've used those.

I've expected the Islamofascists to try to take over Saudi Arabia, but not with direct attacks. The current King and Crown Prince are old and frail. Once they die the succession will be fiercely contested, and a bold move could put in a prince who supports Al Qaeda or a similar group (B5 fans may want to rewatch "The Coming of Shadows" to see how that could work). So if they're not waiting for the succession I'm assuming they're afraid of being wiped out if they wait too long.

The alternate possibility is them trying to capitalize on the withdrawal of US troops to make it look like they drove us out. But that's really putting their support base at risk--so far the House of Saud has bribed the Islamofascists to attack elsewhere. If they're being attacked directly the princes will fight.

Either way, Americans and the rest of the Western world can rest easier. A stealthy enemy is being forced into the open where we can crush it.