[OT] - about that saudi bombing...

[pnyboer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (peter nyboer)]

i know this is totally off topic, but there are many newshounds on this
list, and this stuff is too interesting not to share.  Ok, so what exactly
was that "housing for westerners" that was attacked in Saudi Arabia?  Was
this simply a blind expression by those whose "only faith is hate?" (GWB's
words)

In the VERY LEAST!!! you MUST look at this:
the website of Dorrat al Jadawel, one of the compounds that was hit:
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/street/kbt79/dorrat.htm

Here's some stuff that my brother and I dredged up:

I've been poking around about the recent attack in saudi
arabia...interesting targets, which include the Vinnell Corp, a subsidiary
of Northrop Grumman. All but one of the fatalities worked for Vinnell.
Their website (vinnell.com) has no sympathy for the victims or mention of
the bombing, interestingly enough. Anyway, Vinnell is there to train the
Saudi National Guard, since 1975. This lovely unit of at least 55,000
guards is described by Jane's as a "kind of Praetorian Guard for the House
of Saud, the royal family's defence of last resort against internal
opposition." (not knowing what praetorian means, i looked it up to find it
is "of, forming, or resembling the Roman imperial bodyguard")

Vinnell was previously targeted by a car bombing in 1995 in Saudia Arabia

Also a target was a joint Saudi-US project involving the Frank E Basil
Company (basil-group.com) called Saudi Maintenance Company (Siyanco) who
has interests in shipping and god knows what else. The Basil company has
previously built military complexes in Saudi Arabia.

The only mention of Vinnell I found in the SF Chronicle was some touchy piece
about how military vets who worked for them were "working to save money for
their kids education." I also read a letter to the editor that mentioned
Vinnell as a target which made me sit up and pay attention, because I
hadn't really paid any to this recent attack.

Doing a search of "vinnell corporation cia" on google comes up with all the
cheneybushdrugempire paranoid-version sites, which is pretty funny.

more info here:
http://commondreams.org/views03/0513-06.htm
http://commondreams.org/headlines03/0514-06.htm
CNN actually published a piece about Vinnell Corp:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/05/13/saudi.vinnell/index.html

here's a piece from Australian paper "The Age":
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/14/1052885292950.html

another CNN piece identifying the three compounds that were hit.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/05/13/Saudi.jadawel/index.html

the website of Dorrat al Jadawel, one of the compounds. you've GOT to see this:
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/street/kbt79/dorrat.htm

extremely concise history of Vinnell from CorpWatch
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=6029

"I know I made mistakes. So has everybody else."
  -Stanley Roberts 

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