The U.S. absolutely cannot countenance the perfidy of the oil ticks another moment. They are heinous despicable scum:
- The Monday bombings in Riyadh are only the latest evidence that the Saudi government cannot and will not suppress extremism. The wake-up calls keep coming, but the U.S. refuses to recognize the kingdom's involvement with terrorism.
In the weeks leading up to the bombing, it is now reported that the U.S. requested additional security at American compounds based on intercepted communications. It was a familiar pattern, and one that a nation now experienced in terror-talk and embassy bombings knew to take seriously. But the Saudis didn't come through — the compound was left vulnerable, even on the eve of a visit to the country by Colin Powell. [WSJ - subscription required]
- In the month before Monday's bombings in Riyadh, the United States asked Saudi Arabia on at least five separate occasions to deploy armed uniformed government guards around all Western targets of a possible terrorist attack, Bush administration officials said today.
Among those requests, the officials said, was one by Stephen J. Hadley, the deputy national security adviser who was diverted to Saudi Arabia during a trip to Moscow and Israel and was instructed by the White House to meet directly with Crown Prince Abdullah, the kingdom's day-to-day leader.
"We needed to underscore the seriousness of the message that they had to wake up," said one senior official. Yet neither that request, delivered on Saturday, May 3, nor any other was fully heeded by the Riyadh government, the officials said. The Saudi authorities did nothing to augment security at any of the sites, including the three housing compounds struck on Monday night, the administration officials said.
The Saudi ambassador to the United States said today that his government "did what was needed" in response to American requests.
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