The blast and rapid-fire noise shook my office windows a mile and a half away from the American Consulate in Jeddah. I went to the window and the thick plume of black smoke rising into the blue sky was unmistakable. In days gone by, we would have thought of unfortunate civil accidents as the source of such horrors. Today we know better.
The initial shock was tempered by the urgency of the ongoing blasts and bullet sounds. There was no time to talk. The mayhem was still in progress. Saudi and American employees gathered at the window and on the roof. The first impression I registered was helplessness. We just stood there wondering.
Inside that compound were friends and acquaintances. People we knew and not just faceless diplomats. Politics was the last thing on one’s mind. The time of day (just before noon) meant that the offices were full and the visa crowd at its highest. It did not take long to figure out the potential tragedy in the making.
The American consul general is a learned lady, bent on doing her best to fulfill the duties of her office, be they diplomatic or cultural. The Christmas and holiday season meant more activities laced with good will. The Arab-Americans working in that building were friends who work with Saudis to keep the links solid and the mutual respect flowing in spite of such horrors. They never wavered and hardly daunted by the task assigned to them.
We have broken bread with these people on several occasions. We have shared ideas and differed on others. We kept in touch and exchanged visits.
All that was under the horrific black cloud of smoke.
There was nothing we could do but watch helplessly. A brand of brigands have taken our lives hostage and are intent on killing people who are simply carrying on with their jobs and are innocent from A to Z. We have said it once and will say it a million times until the situation is resolved: We are responsible for this monstrosity.
Who gives them arms? Who funds them? Who is responsible for making this cult into a militia threatening the world and us? As an American friend put it, “Arabs should stop answering questions with questions. It is time they sat down and formulated an answer.”
She is right. It is no use answering a question about Arab terror by pointing to Israeli terror for example. It is redundant to go about complaining about America the superpower when we know that a superpower, by definition, will act in a given way.
William James said, “The war against war is going to be no holiday excursion or camping party.” That was written more than a century ago, yet still valid today. The war against our own internal war that is spilling all over the globe should start here and now. It is not with roadblocks that such a war is going to be won. The attackers just proved them ineffectual.
To quote Lady Macbeth, we should “screw our courage to the sticking point”’, look inside, and provide my American friend with answers. Perhaps we might then be on the road to salvation and some peace.