The suicide attack on a Saudi security post at the Saudi-Yemen border that left 10 people dead is reminiscent of the series of attacks in the Kingdom in 2003-2006. Yet unlike a decade ago, militants are going to have a more difficult time penetrating the heart of our country.
Ever since the formation of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2009 and the lawlessness that has engulfed Yemen since the fall of Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011, the 1,100-mile border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen has been one of the biggest security headaches for Saudis.
We have been building with some success a fence to deter militants and criminals from entering the country from Yemen, but continue to be hampered by tribesmen who complain construction is denying them access to pastures for their animals.
That said, we should be reminded that the attack was stopped at the Saudi border and at no time was there any danger that militants could venture deeper into Saudi territory.
The primary reason is that the Ministry of Interior has refined its skills in identifying and apprehending militants in Saudi Arabia. Its intelligence apparatus to identify the strategy of AQAP is second to none. The lessons learned following the bombing of residential compounds and the American Consulate in Jeddah in 2004 have served our military well.
But suppressing militancy in the region is not strictly a military endeavor. Maintaining stability requires the will of the people. Not only must the public be committed to putting an end to the militant threat, but also soldiers must be personally committed to the cause to effectively carry out directives of their supervisors. An army comprises men who have their own ideas of right and wrong and if their ideology doesn’t mesh with the Kingdom’s mission then the fight is that much more difficult to achieve.
Which makes the difference between 2003 and 2014 such a stark contrast. In 2003, many Saudis believed they were far removed from the terror attacks of 9/11 and 7/7 and the 2004 Madrid train bombings. Our naiveté ended with the Riyadh residential bombings in May and November of 2003 and the Alkhobar attacks in May 2004.
We had rationalized that militant attacks did not involve Muslim victims and that their fight against non-Muslims was not our fight. Today, we have no such illusions as evident in the latest Pew Research Center’s report on the attitudes of citizens in predominately Muslim countries toward extremism.
Pew polled residents in 14 countries. Although Saudi Arabia was not among the countries polled, the attitudes of Muslims and Arab non-Muslims reflect Saudi attitudes as well. The poll showed an overwhelming concern among Arabs and non-Arab Muslims about extremism. The poll showed that 96 percent of Lebanese citizens had an unfavorable view of Al-Qaeda while 81 percent of Egyptians shared the same opinion.
Pew reported: “Roughly three-quarters in Tunisia (74 percent) and six-in-10 in the Palestinian territories (59 percent) also have a negative view of Al-Qaeda. While a quarter of Palestinians have a favorable view of Al-Qaeda, support is down nine percentage points since 2013.”
A majority of Muslims polled expressed revulsion for Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Taleban. Unfavorable attitudes toward these groups have climbed since 2007, according to the poll. Whatever benefit of the doubt Muslims were willing to give militants have steadily eroded over the last decade.
As tragic as the attack at the Saudi-Yemen border was, it’s unlikely that we will ever witness attacks similar to those perpetrated in 2003 and 2004. We have shed our naiveté, we have unmasked extremists for who they really area — criminals and murderers — and we will not allow them to hijack our country.
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