Word: saudi
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. and one of the most influential Saudi officials, tells TIME that "Islamic radicals are very, very small, and looked upon in this country as outcasts. Saudi Arabia is probably the strictest country in administering Islamic law as a way of life. Islamic extremists are not a threat to the stability of the country." Meanwhile, Mohammed Mass'ari, a leading Islamic militant in exile in London, says the extreme groups are splintered. "The number is big, dozens if not hundreds," he says, "but the membership in each group is small...
Western policymakers are worried that the kingdom's current economic slump is providing new recruits to the ranks of the opposition. Lower oil prices, huge government debts and the staggering $60 billion cost of the war have combined to cut Saudi Arabia's per capita income in half. The soaring population is generating a wave of young, middle-class urbanites who are coming out of strictly religious universities to find there are no jobs for them. Unemployment among young people may be as high as 25%. Set these conditions against the high living and charges of corruption in the House...
...economic summit in Lyons, France, last week, Secretary of State Warren Christopher dismissed the idea that the monarchy was threatened. "This is a solid and stable government," he insisted. "Saudi Arabia's stability," says another senior official, "is always a concern, but the fact that this group resorted to terror, not a popular demonstration," indicates it is small and weak. Comparisons to Iran under the Shah, this official says, are mistaken. "There aren't large-scale demonstrations, a regime losing its will to govern or a vocal charismatic leader in exile...
...died at Khobar were there to protect Saudi Arabia from an external threat, not an internal one, yet that is what they fell victim to. On Thursday the bodies were flown back to the U.S. That same day, pilots from the 58th Fighter Squadron who lived in Building 131 returned home, having completed their normal 90-day tour of duty. "Their 90 days was up," said Major James Stratford. "They left. But some of them went home in coffins...
...explosion at the Khobar Towers compound. "None of us," Fennig said, "have a problem with the mission." The families of other service members who died echoed that sentiment, and U.S. officials insisted that the act of terror would not deter the U.S. from fulfilling its mission in Saudi Arabia and around the Persian Gulf. In the aftermath of last week's deaths, however, it is appropriate to ask what exactly that mission is and whether the U.S. is carrying it out in the most sensible manner...