Official: Saudis Foiled 2003 Terror Plot

Previously-Undisclosed Plan To Blow Up Airliner Over U.S. Revealed By Saudi Arabian Newspaper

(AP)  Saudi Arabia foiled a terror attack against the United States five years ago, a Saudi official said Sunday.

The official said the 2003 plot, which was first reported Sunday in Al-Watan newspaper, was one of 160 foiled terror plots the kingdom announced last month that it had foiled. At the time, authorities provided no details about the alleged plots.

It was unclear why Saudi authorities never publicly revealed the alleged 2003 plot previously and why it first surfaced in Al-Watan, which is government guided, on Sunday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the 2003 plot involved militants who planned to hijack a plane and blow it up over a densely populated city in the United States.

The militants planned to transit through the U.S. to another destination, according to the official. That way, they could avoid applying for the hard-to-get U.S. visas, a requirement for Saudis, the official added.

The official said the militants were preparing to execute the alleged plot when it was halted.

The official would not provide more details about the alleged plot including what city the militants planned to target and whether any arrests were made.

Over the past few years, the Interior Ministry has said the militants it has arrested had been planning to carry out attacks inside and outside the kingdom.

The issue of al Qaeda operatives in the kingdom has been in the news recently following Interior Minister Prince Nayef's announcement last month that authorities indicted 991 suspected militants on charges that they participated in terrorist attacks carried out in Saudi Arabia over the last five years.

Nayef said the militants have been responsible for more than 30 attacks in the kingdom since May 2003 that killed 164 people, including 74 security officials, and wounded hundreds.

Another 160 attacks were foiled, the ministry said at the time. The official said the countries that would have been targeted in any of the 160 attacks were notified through official channels at the time the plots were uncovered.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has pursued an aggressive campaign against militants since May 2003, when they first began their strikes in the kingdom. Subsequent attacks targeted oil installations, government buildings and other compounds.

There have been no major attacks since February 2006, when suicide bombers tried but failed to attack an oil facility at the Abqaiq oil complex, the world's largest oil processing facility, in eastern Saudi Arabia.

It is not clear when the militant trials will start.

[impeach__w]

and I thought Saudis were eligible to fasttrack their visas...

More B.S. Almost Just in time for the election.

[jcincanada]

I don''t believe any of this ***! This is Arab pre-election propaganda to con Americans into believing "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" is looking out for America''s best interests when in reality, these Arabs are masterminding not only America''s downfall but that of the whole Western world in the hope of establishing their own islamic power and dominance worldwide as per their stealth jihad duty to a two-faced entity named allah. This plan is laid out in their book of revelations-the Qu''ran and the life and times of their Prophet and their Wahhabees-wannabees.

Arabs fueled islam-empathizer Obama''s ultra expensive MSM spell-binding electoral campaign...in perfect timing with their September mad hike in oil prices in a strategic move to provoke the Wall Street crisis/global economic disaster and seal American voters faith in Barack Hussein Obama''s messianic "Call for Change". To further spin American''s heads, they are stooping the oil prices way down just before election day...

When patriotic America does wake-up and takes draconian measures against stealth and overt jihadi modus operandi, true Canadians will be right behind them as we always were.

[frankie2fing]

Strange... McCain been saying it was dubyas policies that stop these attacks. Are we even farming out our security?

[larryhammick]

Word from the regional Arabic press is that the "plot" was authorized by Safir al-Hawali (an the old-time Wahhabi hate-cleric and terrorist recruiter) and somebody captured in 2003 in Jiddah told about the plot, presumably under torture, or he simply made it up to stop the torture. The story goes that a plane bound for California from South America would be used. Anyway this whole story is just official Riyadh propaganda.

[DDouville]

Notice how all these banks are getting bailed out, yet if your late on a credit card payment they are ready to have you walk the plank? I lost my job over this mortgage/housing mess, have had to liquidate my 401k, the list goes on... It''s hard to believe the dramatic change the economy has made these past few years. Who would have imagined? Now all these people own homes that are worth less than they paid for em. The whole thing is a bit depressing. Sorry this doesn''t really relate to the article, but sure is the plain simple truth for a lot of Americans that have been hurt by economic conditions. I wonder if I will be able to keep a roof over my head, with the way apartments skyrocketed in price along with housing, then when housing prices fall 30%, do you think your rent would drop? Not a chance in a million years. So let''s hope things somehow get better for everyone. And we certainly don''t need a terror attack at this point, but then Al Quaeda likes to test new presidents to gauge the reaction. I would expect a coordinated terror attack on US soil within the first year of the new president. We have pushed a lot of buttons in the war on terror. They like to hit us when we are in a weakened state. I sincerely hope I''m wrong about all this. I wish we could all shake hands and be friends. Light instead of darkness. Love instead of hate. Peace instead of war. The world would be so much better for everyone. Peace from Dan

[longtree-2009]

five years ago? now it is made public by a newspaper? saudi leadership, government, sounded no alarm 5 years ago and are silent now? seems odd, this story. difficult to believe this announcement out of saudi. the bush government is silent too.

[toolmangler-2009]

Hey, maybe he''ll spread that around too - yeah baby - free drugs!
Posted by Speakinup21 at 07:42 PM : Nov 02, 2008



Nope, we need to cut you off. You were already ''One [toke] over the line'' before you got here...

[cindyaharris]

The saudis are the terrorists. When will stupid Americans open their eyes? We are pro-hate for the saudis at www.theseriouspolice.com Believe in America and stop these scumbag idiots!

[hermitdave]

WOW---shame the good Saudi friends of the Bush family didn''t stop the 9/11 Saudi plot. This sounds more like a scare the sheep before the election story. Next we have a Osama tape, then a new warning from Cheney, then who knows tomorrow night the brave crusader George might make a mushroom cloud speech.

[larryhammick]

What credence can we give to a story in al-Watan of KSA, claiming that the Saudi regime prevented a massacre of Americans, when KSA conceals the names of the "deviants" whom it executes, when the Taliban and the Somali Shabaab cults are religiously controlled by Saudis, when more than half of the suicide bombers in Iraq have been Saudis, and when KSA does nothing about Saudi terrorist financiers Wa''il Julaidin and Yassin Qadi? None of course. The explanation of Riyadh''s schizophrenia is that there are really two Saudi Arabias: the plutocracy based in Riyadh, and the theocracy based in Jiddah -- home town of Usama Bin Ladin and the international model of Salafist ignorance and savagery.

[solarrays247-2009]

jenny.....................NOBODY IS BUYING THIS B-SH*T. WE KNOW THAT THE ADMINISTRATION PUT THIS NONSENSE OUT HERE TO TRY TO HELP MCCAIN. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE NOT BUYING IT.

THE RACE IS OVER.

Posted by unbiased11 at 06:34 PM : Nov 02, 2008

Yepper! I was wondering when something like this would hit the news! Why is this news only hitting right now, right before our presidential election, and just when George H.W. Bush & Son''s political party is struggling? It is no secret that the Bush''s and Saudia Arabia big whigs are close. Duh-h-h!!!!

[guadalcanal3]

I''m looking at all of these posts....very depressing...This has nothing to do with the candidates...The American press did not release this story the Saudi Press did...What are all of you ignorant people going to say when another attack occurs during an Obama administration?...That is Bush''s fault?..Al Qaeda wants to destroy our way of life..regardless of who is in office...WAKE UP!

[tincup356]

want to avoid the attack? vote out all incumbents who voted for the bailout, it was just part 1 of the SELLOUT.Cant you people see this has been carefully planned out to separate the classes, to the haves and have not''s, that is what spreading the wealth is,This a a tool of fear that they are using to accomplish this feat.They get us into a war that is illegal, ruin our economy ,collect lobby dollars under the table .the people we have entrusted our country to, have no shame as they have run us into the ground and expect us to want them to keep doing it ...NOT.

[wilton_ds]

Im with You Jenny. I too have started buying non-perishable foods that have about a 2 years experation date. Stocking up on toilet paper, tooth paste, washing det. I bought an old fashion scrub board like they used to wash clothes with. Putting back up my clothes line I took down a few years ago and stored in barn. If oboma is elected before he takes office I will remodel my outdoor john behind the barn. This is in case the attackes is on the power grid in this country and we are without power for months.

[buffalonyusa]

I for one will be hording food, water, medicine, and any other survival gear under an obama regime.

Posted by jennyb52
---------------

Redneck Repub. Yeeeeeeeeeehaw!!

[unbiased11]

jenny.....................NOBODY IS BUYING THIS B-SH*T. WE KNOW THAT THE ADMINISTRATION PUT THIS NONSENSE OUT HERE TO TRY TO HELP MCCAIN. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE NOT BUYING IT.


THE RACE IS OVER.

[cdfoxtrot5]

Yeah, pull the other one. Totally made up story aimed at helping McBush.

[harp1963]

Yeah, and we all believe in the tooth fairy too. What a crock of c r a p, Saudia Arabia is our friend. Let''s develop a energy source that will have the OPEC countries selling sand instead of oil.

[tincup356]

the biggest terror attack we face is from our own government trying to rob the people using the SELLOUT,mark my word people these crooks are not through, they just await the election so you cant do anything about it.The congressmen who voted for the sellout will finish the job if party line voters re-elect them Tuesday, you have been warned.

[eclecticman1]

Interesting timing on this. Could it be a little help from the Saudis to their friend George W. to help swing the election? No facts on if it really did happen or if this is a hoax, but interesting timing.