Saying the bloody attack on a housing compound in Riyadh bore the earmarks of al-Qaida, the Bush administration on Monday offered to widen its support for Saudi Arabia in countering terror. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday, the day after scores of people were killed or injured in the bombing, made the offer to Crown Prince Abdullah. Armitage told the Saudi leader "we will be full participating partners if that is the desire of the kingdom," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
| It's not. Too many jewelled turbans to be implicated... |
Saudi Arabia has taken a number of steps since a similar attack last May in Riyadh, Boucher said. "They have been very aggressive in raids, going after terrorist operatives who have been using the territory of the kingdom for evil attacks," the spokesman said.
| They've also been crummy on follow-up — a few always seemed to manage to get away and the cops were too busy directing traffic or beating up women who showed an ankle to chase them down... |
For its part, the United States has helped the Saudis increase security and shared information on financing of terrorists, Boucher said. But, he added, "There is always more we could be doing, until we prevent attacks like this. And that has to be our primary concern now: What more can we do in terms of our assets, our support, and our cooperation with the Saudi government?"
| "What the hell does it take to wake you guys up?" |
Boucher said the U.S. government did not actually have evidence that al-Qaida, the terror network headed by Saudi-born Osama bin Laden, carried out the attack. But, he said, "it looks like Al Qaida, it smells like Al Qaida, it has all the earmarks of Al Qaida."
| It does whiff strongly of al-Qaeda. If they're not Qaeda they're close enough for gummint work... |
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