There were a few developments in Saudi Arabia that shed light on the Saudi approach to Islamic radicals and terrorism.

First, the Saudis announced that they arrested five to twelve suspects today in the Riyadh bombings of a couple of weeks ago. The exact number is not clear. The alleged mastermind of the 12 May attacks, Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Ghamdi, is among the detainees. This brings the total arrested in the bombings to at least 15 (possibly 22). This is clear evidence that the Saudis are taking seriously the threat of terrorism within the kingdom and are prepared to do something about it. BBC, May 28, 2003; New York Times, May 28, 2003

Second, the American ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Robert W. Jordan, said today that the United States government still considers chances of another attack in the kingdom as high. "There are very likely others out there planning parallel activities, perhaps not even in direct communication with each other," he said, noting that investigators had to remain vigilant about Al Qaeda members yet to be exposed. This indicates that support within the kingdom is still strong for al-Qaeda and that the Saudis have a lot of work to do to root them out. New York Times, May 28, 2003

Third, Saudis seem to be questioning the religious fundamentalism that provides the philosophical underpinnings of al-Qaeda style terrorism. Mansour al-Nogaidan said in print that the Wahhabi doctrine prevalent in Saudi Arabia was the root cause of the violence fomented in the name of Islam here and around the world. "The main problem is that these radical groups draw their justification from Wahhabi thoughts," Mr. Nogaidan, a Saudi newspaper columnist, said in an interview this week, referring to the teachings of Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab, which have been prevalent for over 200 years. "They think the only religiously sanctioned way to spread Islam is through jihad," he said, using the term in the sense of "holy war." "It's a huge problem. It's an octopus with its arms everywhere, building these thoughts in everyone's mind." New York Times, May 25, 2003

Fourth, this questioning of religious fundamentalism by Saudis will not be allowed to go too far. Mr. Nogaidan later lost his job at al Watan newspaper for criticizing the religious establishment. Jamal Khachugi, the new editor of Al-Watan, was fired today for allowing the same type of dissent to be published in the newspaper. Arab Press Freedom Watch, May 28, 2003 While the Saudi government might want to end terrorism, it does not want to destroy the religious establishment that provides legitimacy for its autocratic rule, no matter that the Wahhabi establishment provides legitimacy to terrorists as well.