Terrorists have struck again in Saudi Arabia, targeting this time the Kingdom’s core, which is leading the war against terrorism.
The heinous bombing of the security buildings in Riyadh and earlier attacks and attempts prove the Kingdom is a victim of terrorism. Fresh threats have also been made against the Kingdom. This negates claims by the United States and other countries that it exports terrorism. For, how can a country export terror when it is a victim itself?
The US should strongly condemn these bombings as Saudi Arabia has against attacks on America. But condemnation is not sufficient because terrorists do not discriminate between good and evil, and right and wrong.
Saudi Arabia needs support and solidarity. And it deserves them because these attacks are the price of its vehement and principled stand against terrorism.
But support should not only come through words of sympathy and denunciation of terror. Words should translate into action. There should be cooperation with its authorities, providing them information on suspicious activities. The movements of suspected criminals and opponents of its firm anti-terror stand, whether in or outside the Kingdom, should be monitored. Saudi Arabia should be provided with technology to combat terror.
No matter what the motive is behind these attacks, this terror campaign against a peaceful and generous country has been mounted by rabid men and lunatics without principles.
The recent seizure of a truck laden with tons of explosives only proves these terrorists are inhuman. Who were these mad beasts targeting with 10 tons of explosives? Saudi citizens could have been massacred had these beasts succeeded. And how can they be human when they are killing their own people for no clear motive?
As Crown Prince Abdullah vowed this week, Saudi authorities must show no mercy to these mad terrorists. It should hound them wherever they go. It should remain on the offensive rather than the defensive to show them that it will not tolerate such barbaric acts.
Islam has nothing to do with these bloodthirsty, fanatical vampires who are fighting a losing war merely to spill the blood of their own people without a definite goal. To call them stray dogs is giving them credit because even stray dogs can be tamed and made friendly with man.
The terrorists who struck in Riyadh and in other cities earlier are in the same boat. They are wild beasts blinded by terror. All they want is bloodletting. Nations and peoples must unite against them wherever they are.
The US must realize that terrorism has no borders. If terror can strike at America, it can also reach Saudi Arabia and other countries. Terrorists have no friends, interests, or principles. They kill for the sake of killing. Hence, it is extremely important to distinguish between terrorism and fanaticism on the one hand, and legitimate struggle and resistance against occupation for freedom and dignity, on the other.
The US should be among the first countries to condemn the attacks because its media has launched an unfair campaign against the Kingdom. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the US, the American media has pointed a finger toward Saudi Arabia. I would like to hear what they would say now after the bombings against the Kingdom.
Will they still claim Saudi Arabia exports terror? Or will they change their mind and give the Kingdom fair treatment?
The Saudi government is capable of dealing with a gang of bloodthirsty terrorists, but I also hope that other countries will rally around the Kingdom under such circumstances as it has done for other nations that have been targeted by terror.
Saudi Arabia now appears to be the main target of terrorism because it has played a pivotal role in fighting terrorism. Let us all support it so that it can continue playing that role, which is needed to fight terrorism everywhere.
— Abdul Hamid Ahmad is editor in chief of Gulf News published from Dubai.
