It can be easy to predict the future by looking at numbers from the past, and to learn from them. The total number of Saudis that went to Iraq in 2003 and 2004 was about 2,500. What about 2005?
We must focus on the Saudis who aren’t killed or arrested in Iraq, the ones who return. Are they coming back home or are they coming back to create trouble?
Those returning legally can easily be detained and questioned by authorities. A bigger problem is the ones returning illegally, by sneaking across the border or using fake documents. These people can easily join militant cells undetected.
Nobody can guarantee that the people returning from Iraq are through fighting. The optimists think the journey ends with the return from the field of battle. It happens with some but not with all. We know many stories of young Saudis that went to jihad and only came back with hatred for their country. They picture their country as not Islamic and their rulers as infidels.
Do we want to recall some memories of Saudis that went for jihad in Bosnia and Kosovo? Many fought there and died. Some that came back home came with new ideologies.
Do we remember Badr Al-Subaie? This man left his job in Aramco and went to Bosnia to fight there. He went with a heart full of love for his country and returned with a head full of hatred. He spent five years in prison yet he did not change his thoughts. He was released and then he joined Al-Qaeda, along with Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin; he died in a gun battle in 2004.
Subaie is an example of many people that went for jihad and came back with violent thoughts. The danger is if a number of these fighters sneak back into the country, they will help Al-Qaeda resurge. Will this terrorist organization succeed once again in killing and plotting to kill in the Kingdom?
The current security situation and the continuous strikes against these deviants broke them. Police were able to make enormous strides in dismantling Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia.
The possibility of it resurging would require time, and it would require the Saudi security force to let down its guard. There is no way such a terrorist organization could re-form in the current state of security. Still, officials here have said that the fight is not over and they should watch out for those returning from Iraq.
