Rehabilitating the jihadists Saudi Arabia tackles the radical threat from within

Published: July 24, 2008, 5:52 pm

From the June 2008 issue of Strategic Comments, journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)in London:Rehabilitating the jihadistsSaudi Arabia tackles the radical threat from within A programme aimed at reintegrating jihadists into society forms an important and innovative part of Saudi Arabia's efforts to deal with radicals. So far, it appears to be a success albeit a qualified one. Saudi Arabia's realisation that it was facing a threat stemmed not only from the activities of Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader and son of a Saudi construction magnate; in the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi. In May 2003, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) launched a campaign of violence that resulted in nearly 300 casualties over 18 months. Among the victims were 90 civilians, including some Westerners, 40 police and 150 of AQAP's own militants, many of whom fought to the death or committed suicide rather than be

[ Full article ]

Blog link

Comments