Monday, October 13, 2008

World

Saudi Arabia Tries to Rehabilitate Its Jihadists

The U.S. praises the program, although in other areas a Saudi counterterrorism effort falls short

Posted May 1, 2008

The idea of rehabilitating committed jihadists remains controversial in counterterrorism circles, but an ambitious Saudi program is winning praise from the U.S. State Department. "Saudi Arabia has implemented an effective model rehabilitation program for returning jihadis to turn them against violent extremism and to reintegrate them as peaceful citizens," the department concluded in its annual report on terrorism.

Saudi prisoners, released after years in detention, are usually taken to an interior ministry rehabilitation center to facilitate their reintegration in society.
Saudi prisoners, released after years in detention, are usually taken to an interior ministry rehabilitation center to facilitate their reintegration in society.
(Hassan AmmarAFP/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia says that some 2,000 extremists have passed through its de-radicalization program, where prisoners receive extensive counseling and educational sessions. As many as 700 have been released, and Saudi officials claim recidivism has been negligible.

But Saudi society remains relatively opaque, which has made independent assessments of the program very difficult. U.S. officials say they have been trying to monitor the program with Saudi cooperation. "Most importantly, with their internal deradicalization programs...they treat the individual as a victim, not necessarily as a culprit," says Dell Dailey, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator. "And that's consistent with their culture."

The State Department's broader assessment of Saudi counterterrorism efforts is more mixed. The Saudis did arrest more than 400 suspected terrorists and facilitators, including financiers, last year. But U.S. officials still want the Saudis to implement tougher measures to stop terrorist financing, to remove hateful messages from school textbooks, and to speed up political reforms.

The Bush administration has a complicated relationship with Saudi Arabia, which has long been a close U.S. ally but remains a key source for extremists. Saudis are believed to be the single largest nationality among foreign suicide bombers in Iraq.

And last month, a senior Treasury Department official testifying before Congress was unusually frank about how much work remains for the Saudi government to crack down on terrorist financing. "Saudi Arabia today remains the location where more money is going to terrorism, to Sunni terror groups, and to the Taliban than any other place in the world," said Stuart Levey, a Treasury under secretary.

More broadly, a companion report by the National Counterterrorism Centerfound that the number of terrorism attacks worldwide remained largely steady in 2007, measuring only a tiny decline from the year before. Some 80 percent of the recorded attacks occurred in the Middle East and South Asia. One of the biggest increases took place in Afghanistan, which has seen the number of terrorist attacks more than double between 2005 and 2007.

Reader Comments

middleeast is continent of terror

Middle east is a continent of terror. US and the world community need to wipe terrorism in these states supported by Royal families in respective countries. Royal families are trying to preach voilent ways of living in the name of islam. World has seen that Middle east is a place for terrorists, mafia and fanatics. Democracy can only help bring peace and eradicate terrorism.

US and world community need to wipe out anarchy and enforce democracy in middle east to make this world a better place to live and bringforth peace!

Shame on arabs who are preaching violent way of living, fanatics and terrorists.

Shame on arabs who preach racism and capitalism in every day life because of riches by oil resources.

Shame on arabs who encourage polygamy, forced prostitution and human trafficking.

Everybody is a Victim

Many terrorists could be qualified as victims - victims of hardline, extremist theologist, ignorance, and misinformation. Muslim Arabs are victims of demonization; we are victims of misinformation and rush to vengence policies of the Bush administration.

Even a small effort to do something about "curing" terrorism should be lauded. It will take many such efforts, small and large to do something more than create more violence in the Middle East.

A Second Look at the Saudis

I'm sure the Saudi royals appreciate your help with their ridiculous little PR gambit here. No nation is more responsible for the rise of Al Qaeda and the attacks on 9/11 than Saudi Arabia. And that is just the tip of the iceberg:

http://www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com

And how do they pursue those who are chomping at the bit to murder Americans? Through a glorified "catch and release" program. Willie Horton never had it so good.

Meanwhile, they continue to perpetuate the rabidly xenophobic brand of Islam which is at the heart of our problems in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and lower Manhattan for that matter:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/03/INHA10C1TA.DTL

You're being played, folks. And as for the Bush administration, I think their credibility on Saudi Arabia, and the War on Terror in general, speaks for itself.

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