The Empty Quarter

Good interview. I realize that he is controversial, but I personally like Freeman’s perspective and am sorry that he withdrew…

A security source at the Ministry of Interior has told al-Hayat that Yemeni security forces are tracking 50 Saudis spread throughout Yemen. The source told the paper that the names will be submitted to Interpol…

News reports have it that the U.S. is considering releasing Yemeni detainees at Gitmo to Saudi Arabia instead of Yemen. Although not here, I have argued in the past that this is most likely what the U.S. would end up doing with that class of prisoners it doesn’t want to see returned into Yemen’s general population right away – which will be ALL returnees to Yemen…

Security forces captured Saudi national Abdullah al-Harbi, named on the lists of Saudi Arabia’s 85 and Yemen’s 116 most wanted, in the governorate of Taiz on Sunday, March 15. Over the past few days a number of al-Qaeda operatives apparently surrendered to security forces in Abyan as well…

Saudi authorities say they have broken up four big drug smuggling operations and arrested 35 suspected drug dealers. Security forces seized more than 1,760kg of cannabis resin and more than 3m amphetamine tablets in raids across the country, officials said…

I heard a really interesting report on PRI’s The World program today on NPR discussing the state of Saudi literature and novels. Apparently there has been quite a boom lately. Really worth a listen…

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat urged Arabs yesterday to stand up to Persian Iran’s ambitions in the region, including its nuclear program…

al-Ghad has it from “reliable sources” that a one-year truce has been agreed upon by the Yemeni government and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQ-AP) and its leader ‘Abu Basir’ Nasser al-Wahayshi. The agreement was apparently reached via the government’s jihadist middleman Tariq al-Fadhli…

A prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia appealed to King Abdullah to put an end to “extremist practices and insults” by members of the religious police against Shiite pilgrims following a series of incidents at a revered cemetery…

In three parts with subtitles…

15 recently published reports from international organizations, all on Saudi women, laid out 82 demands many of which openly call for the removal of Shariah law and its replacement with man-made law…

Abu Nasar Al-Haweshi from Yemen has been nominated as Al-Qaeda’s leader for Gulf Region, TheNation learnt through highly-placed reliable sources on Sunday…

This really needs some confirmation – there is a whole lot here that just doesn’t add up…

People believe that if marriage officials do not certify such marriages then the practice would die down. But the men in the middle say it is not their job to ascertain the ages of people getting married as long as there is mutual consent. And apportioning blame for this practice on them is unjustified, they claim…

A spokesman for the Saudi Interior ministry has denied reports that seven Saudi terrorism suspects were arrested in Yemen who received trainings in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Major General Mansour al-Turkey said Yemeni officials had told him the reports were untrue…

I am starting to tire of all the Awfi press, but this article I found rather interesting because of the psychological commentary and the discussion on al-Awfi mental state…or the speculation at least…

Ali Jaber al-Shihri has made a public plea to his son, Sa’id Ali al-Shihri, to hand himself in and return to the homeland. The appeal comes following the recent return of al-Qaeda Field Commander Mohammad al-Awfi…

Just posted this morning on the forums, enjoy…
UPDATE: There’s audio too…
2nd UPDATE: The audio is now on YouTube, no download needed…

NUCLEAR power is the best option for the Gulf states to meet their growing energy demands, but the key is to produce it collectively, experts said yesterday…

A trickle of information continues to come out on the al-’Awfi experience. Crossed into Yemen with three others: Turki ‘Asiri, Murtadi Muqrim, and al-Shihri (Abu Sufyan)…

Dr. Ghais Bin Abdul Lateef Aal Al-Sheikh, member of the Council of Senior Ulema, has praised restructuring of the body ordered by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. He described it as a step to “eliminating loopholes and the issuing of fatwas (religious edicts) by unauthorized people”…

Bahrain said on Wednesday it has halted negotiations with Iran over a major gas import deal in a deepening row over comments that touch on the sovereignty of the tiny Gulf kingdom…

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula denied in an audio recording – published on Medad Al-soyoof Network – the news circulated by some agencies that the Field Commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Mohammed Al-Awafi turned himself in to Yemeni security authorities…

Gulf Arab states are beginning to worry that any U.S. rapprochement with Iran could ultimately lead to their worst nightmare — a nuclear-armed, non-Arab, Shi’ite Muslim superpower in their neighborhood…

Saudi Arabia’s education is going through an important phase in its history as a result of the reforms introduced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, to improve the country’s educational standard matching with its position in the comity of nations, the new education minister said…

3rd UPDATE: One day after the statement by the Minister of Interior that al-Qaeda no longer exists in Yemen, Mohammed Al-Awfi, a Saudi national who has been an ex-gitmo, turned himself in to Yemeni security authorities, which in turn handed him over to Saudi Arabia, security sources said…

Yemeni security forces have arrested a Saudi national of Yemeni origin and his father in the city of Ibb, al-Watan reports. The wife apparently got away…strange…

UPDATED: Yemeni authorities are investigating a cell of seven Saudis discovered after the arrest of 30 individuals near the Saudi border last week. The cell was to take direction from al-Qaeda in preparing a series of attacks against foreign interests and tourists, as well as train new operatives…

As posted yesterday, King Abdullah has decided to bring more diversity to the council of religious scholars. Various newspapers have been reporting on a few of the additions, including a couple from the Malaki madhab like Qays “as-Sheikh” Mubarak…

The king of Saudi Arabia dismissed two powerful religious figures Saturday, as part of a government shuffle that appeared aimed at reforming the kingdom’s hard-line religious establishment…

History was made yesterday with the appointment by royal decree of a Saudi woman, Nora bint Abdullah Al-Fayez, as the deputy education minister for girls’ affairs…

On the heals of the Yemeni Parliament’s compromised minimum marriage age requirement of 17, comes this piece discussing the debate across the border. Unfortunately, the Kigdom’s proposed legal reforms will still leave family law within the purview of the traditional religious legal establishment.

Evan Kohlmann has put together the profiles of all 11 of the known al-Qaeda recidivists that graduated from the Saudi rehabilitation program after being released from Guantanamo. The report makes the case that al-Qaeda setbacks in the Kingdom are a result of failed leadership within the organization more than Saudi security successes as touted…

The surprise that came with the most recent list of 85 came with regards the 50th name on the list; the journalist Obaida Abdul-Rahman Al Otaibi. The Saudi Ministry of the Interior statement revealed that Obaida Abdul-Rahman Al-Otaibi had left Saudi Arabia for the UAE in 2005, but that there was no information with regards to his current whereabouts…

General Mansour Al-Turki, the security spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of the Interior revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that a number of those included on the most wanted list of 85 suspected of having links to Al Qaeda were not under any security surveillance prior to their flight from Saudi Arabian territory.

Saudi Arabia on Monday called upon countries in the region “to shoulder their responsibilities” in hunting down terrorist suspects. The Cabinet, meeting in its weekly session chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, made the appeal days after Saudi Arabia released a list of 85 wanted terrorist suspects who have fled the Kingdom.

UPDATED: Yemeni border guards apprehended 32 people suspected of being linked to the newly formed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group. The arrest comes after the release by Saudi Arabia a list of 85 individuals wanted by the state, and after a mass mobilization of Yemeni forces to the border region…

Saudi Arabia’s Grand mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Al-Sheikh condemned all acts of terrorism and further stressed that informing about criminals and terrorists is a national and religious duty, hinting providing a cover for terrorists is religiously forbidden.

With the issuance of a list of 85 most wanted on charges of affiliation to Al Qaeda and planning to carry out acts of aggression against Saudi Arabia and Jordan by the Saudi Ministry of Interior, an interesting observation has emerged which is that the most prominent geographical regions that those on the list are located in are Yemen and Iran.

What was noticeable with regards to the Saudi list of 85 suspected on charges of being involved in terrorist activities is the sheer variety of ages, backgrounds and appearance of those included on the list, not to mention their regions [of origin] which comprise Central, Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Saudi Arabia.

According to the sources that spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of Anonymity, the terrorist organization list of targets include oil facilities, security headquarters, government buildings, as well as the assassination of senior officials and high-ranking members of the kingdom’s security forces.

UPDATED: Asharq Al Awsat published a report claiming that al Qaeda is using Iran as a “base of operations” for attacks inside the Saudi Kingdom as well as Jordan. The allegations are consistent with other evidence, and represents an increased willingness of Iran to allow al-Qaeda to operate within its borders.

US counter-terrorism officials are now echoing what their Saudi counterparts said yesterday – that al-Qaeda membership has migrated into Yemen recently. Veiled criticism of Yemen’s CT program.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have reaffirmed their desire to restore and rebuild the historic Hejaz Railway that linked Damascus with the holy city of Madinah by a narrow-gauge rail line. The Hejaz rail line was used by pilgrims traveling from Istanbul to the Prophet’s Mosque via the Syrian capital.

Terror experts in the Kingdom are claiming that terror-suspects have fled Saudi Arabia as they no longer find it congenial for the growth of extremist ideologies. “Security operations in the Kingdom have proved to be a total success in checking the spread of extremist activities and driving them out of their hiding places.”

02.03.09. The Border Guard last year foiled smuggling of 2,864 kg of explosives, six rocket-propel grenades, 68 highly explosive hand grenades, 209 sticks of dynamite, 109 explosive capsules, 67 bomb fuses, 404 different weapons, 99,709 different types of ammunition, nine GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and 14 vehicles.

02.03.09 - Saudi Arabia yesterday urged the Palestinians to adopt a new and realistic concept of resistance that would realize their unity, strengthen their legitimate organizations, protect their lives and properties and ensure their legitimate rights.

Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard Fawzi al-Wajih tells al-Quds al-Arabi about his now famous escape in Yemen through a tunnel to a nearby mosque. He tells the paper that following the escape he took refuge from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh before he turned himself in.

The Arab League and Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs are now reportedly bent on documenting Israeli human rights violations in Gaza as a prelude to lodging a complaint with international courts.

Families of two Saudi detainees who committed suicide in June 2006 while being held at Guantanamo Bay have sued the Pentagon, alleging Thursday that torture and brutal conditions at the offshore prison led the men to their deaths.

Yemen has begun deploying security forces to the border regions in response to intel that al-Qaeda members are crossing the border to attack foreign interests including the British and American embassies and tourist sites.