Waiting on terror

The Monday night bomb blasts in residential compounds housing westerners in Riyadh were certainly not unexpected. Just days ago the US State...

The Monday night bomb blasts in residential compounds housing westerners in Riyadh were certainly not unexpected. Just days ago the US State Department had issued an advisory against non-essential travel to the region based on intelligence inputs about a proposed Al-Qaeda operation.

But for America, as it goes about its unfolding 8220;war on terror8221; and its attempt to reconfigure its strategic presence in West Asia, they are definitely alarming. A year and a half after military operations began in Afghanistan and beyond to cripple the Al-Qaeda network, the wreckage in Riyadh shows that Osama bin Laden8217;s crew remain active and potent.

The suicide attacks came a week after Saudi authorities confiscated a large cache of ammunition from a suspected Al-Qaeda cell, and hours before US Secretary of State Colin Powell commenced his high-security visit to Riyadh. America8217;s Most Wanted have sought to convey that they can follow up the chatter in intelligence intercepts with chillingly timed action. Clearly, even the first phase of the 8220;war on terror8221; 8212; that is the hunt for Al-Qaeda 8212; is not yet accomplished.

It is, however, the site of the attacks that illustrates the complexities that web American strategists in their purported mission to make West Asia a safer, more democratic space. Ever since 9/11, the US has become increasingly suspicious of Saudi Arabia, till then its most durable ally in the Gulf. It was a relationship premised on an oil and allegiance for security swap.

America would defend its friend and the ruling House of Saud against perceived threats, as in the First Gulf War 8212; the Sauds would offer their territory and resources to enable American military and oil security. But after 9/11, Washington has begun to tire of perceived Saudi duplicity in financing and tolerating Wahhabi extremism, most notably of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban variety.

The Saudis, for their part, have begun to distance themselves publicly from the Americans. Rising fundamentalism and an economic slide has spurred the ruling family to heed anti-Americanism in a bid to prevent popular backlash. The most evident fallout of this is the US decision this month to withdraw its 5,000 servicemen from the kingdom.

The 8220;war on terror8221; is said to be aimed at making the world a safer place for Americans and democracy. That safety implies stability. The US may be moving its central command from the Prince Sultan air base near Riyadh to Doha, its headquarters in West Asia may shift from Saudi Arabia to Iraq 8212; but would the entire enterprise be any better served if it were to desert Saudi Arabia altogether? Monday8217;s blasts have added urgency to that question.