The Alkhobar outrage is the latest attack on the Kingdom in which the terrorists have demonstrated their readiness to murder anyone who stands in their way, regardless of religion or ethnicity.
Once again our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the slain and to everyone connected with those who have been injured or taken hostage. The innocent continue to pay the price for the determination of these killers who seek to recast the world in the image of their own perverse fanaticism.
Terrorists must be cut out of Saudi society like a cancer, with the same ruthlessness they again and again display to others. We have said before that this is a conflict in which we are all in the front line and in which we all must assist. These criminals cannot hide in our midst without somebody somewhere noticing something out of place. The utmost vigilance is called for from everyone.
Those deluded fools who shield terrorists, out of fear or sympathy for their warped ambitions, should understand that the blood of every innocent person slain or injured is also on their hands. They too deserve no mercy unless they come to their senses and go to the authorities.
There is no doubt that the Kingdom’s law and order officials have been making headway against the terrorists and stopped other potentially terrible attacks. For this they deserve our admiration and praise. Nevertheless questions must be asked about the level of security around the Alkhobar compounds yesterday. At least two Saudi guards were injured defending the facilities from the onslaught, but had sufficient precautions really been taken to guard against a type of attack that we had previously seen in Yanbu? This is a conflict in which the element of surprise rests with the terrorists. When they began their crimes, they had the advantage of assaulting a society unused to violence and unprepared for attacks by determined individuals. By now however, no one can be in any doubt of the targets and the need for caution and defense. The Saudi oil sector and the people who work in it are in the firing line.
It is time that terrorists were forced to think twice before assaulting oil company offices and residential compounds, by ensuring a high level of security is in place to repel any attack. It is wrong to pre-judge the investigation that must follow this latest horror in the Kingdom, but on the face of it, it would seem that the precautions taken were inadequate.
What is most saddening is that a small group of closed-minded individuals have managed to turn a peaceful society into an armed camp. Until this cancer has been excised, that is the way it has to be.
