Spate of Saudi Bombings Puts Foreigners on Edge

A car bombing that killed a German businessman here last week has increased fears that terrorists are seeking to undermine needed social and political reforms at home while once again taking aim at the kingdom’s fragile ties with the West.

No one knows for sure why the 56-year-old German was blown up, but in this capital, already overheated by fears of terrorism and war against Iraq, many people say they are worried there will be more attacks against Westerners and on the oil industry, the source of this nation’s wealth and its lifeline to the world economy.

In both cases, terrorists would be striking against the West, but the real target would be the ruling House of Saud. They hope that the collapse of the monarchy--or at least a change in the top leadership--would usher in a more conservative, anti-Western government that could carry out Osama bin Laden’s goal of ridding the peninsula of all non-Muslims.

Saudi Arabia is at a pivotal point. Reformers are hoping to use the shock of the Sept. 11 attacks as a catalyst to bring the country into the modern world by promoting change in everything from education to women’s rights. But hard-liners see an opportunity to capitalize on the anger people feel over American scrutiny of their religious system and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Although the vast majority of Saudis appear to support the monarchy, many people here worry that an invasion of Iraq could tip the balance in favor of the extremists.

“There are risks certainly that an attack on Iraq, particularly unilateral, would ignite those who would like to prevent the kingdom from moving into the 21st century,” said a senior Western diplomat based here.

Saudi Arabia has always been seen as a low-crime area, especially for Westerners, who have brought needed business and technical skills. “Personally, I like living here,” said a security analyst with two decades of experience here. But “professionally, I think it is ready to explode.”

The government quickly denied that the attack on the German employee of a communications company was linked to any anti-Western movement, but it fits in a pattern of similar incidents. A British banker was killed when a car bomb exploded as he drove away from his Riyadh compound in June. Authorities initially blamed the killing on a feud between alcohol smugglers but later conceded that the banker had no ties to the illicit trade, Western diplomats said.

Ten days after the banker died, an American couple escaped injury when a bomb fell off the undercarriage of their car and failed to explode. Around the same time, another American spotted a bomb under his car and called police, who defused it.

Security experts say the car bombings could be practice runs for something bigger. So far, the devices have been small, attached to the bottom of cars with magnets and detonated with a homemade mercury switch and a timer. Although they are simple devices, they show a deadly expertise and sophistication, experts said.

The attacks have taken a psychological toll. Few Westerners are seen shopping in the malls these days--and, if they are, they are in groups. Parties in the desert, once routine, have stopped for the most part. Many people carry flashlights and mirrors to check beneath their cars.

“You keep a low profile,” said Lisa Saturno, a native of Seattle who is among the 15,000 Americans in Riyadh.

“I don’t think people feel frightened, but they feel anxious,” said Mike Goodman, 60, a retired British physician who moved here to run a medical program.

Still, foreign and Saudi officials have stepped up security efforts. Fearful that terrorists will attack schoolchildren, a strategy that would probably cause many Westerners to flee, many businesses have stopped their employees from putting their children on school buses.

Foreigners live in their own walled and guarded compounds, but in the new tense climate, perimeter walls are being raised to better ward off intruders and snipers. Western embassies have cautioned their citizens not to leave their cars unattended--and, if they must, to examine them carefully before entering. The U.S. Embassy, a fortress inside the specially protected diplomatic neighborhood, has posted warnings, reminding employees to stay away from the windows because “curiosity kills.”

If the embassy is the key symbol of the U.S. role, oil is a special target. The kingdom has about one quarter of the world’s known reserves in fields that are exposed in the desert near the border with Iraq. The fields are vulnerable to a terrorist planting a bomb under the pipeline or to missiles the Saudis fear could be launched by Iraq.

“It certainly is an area of caution and concern for the Saudis,” the senior Western diplomat said.

Combating the threat from Iraq is almost easier than trying to anticipate and stop an act of sabotage. Officials said the government is confident that its sophisticated, computerized system of shut-off valves could mitigate any damage caused by a blow to the pipeline. The government has also deployed a battery of Patriot missiles to protect the petroleum infrastructure.

Facing a restive population and a possible war on its border, the Saudi leadership has to navigate a difficult path. It has always tried to balance its relationship with its fundamentalist religious elements against its desire to maintain strategic ties with Washington.

The difficulty in that balancing act can be seen in a place like Buraydah, 200 miles northwest of the capital and home to some of the government’s most vocal critics. Buraydah is a potential tinderbox, one that could easily ignite a nation that is young, angry at America and in many cases disillusioned with recent openings to Western culture.

One recent Friday, Toyota Land Cruisers and pickup trucks loaded with men in flowing robes parked alongside a sprawling whitewashed mosque glistening under the midday sun. Their sandaled feet kicked up a cloud of hot desert dust as they headed inside for prayers, a weekly ritual that often turns as much on politics as on prayer.

The message was one they and other Saudis have heard repeatedly in mosques, classrooms, newspapers and even on the Internet. “The words in the Bible have been altered,” said Imam Suleiman Odah, in comments that echoed over the neighborhood from speakers fixed outside the mosque. “It is a pity to see that the greatest nation of the world follows or judges by an altered book, and how all Christians who know the truth accept President Bush as the guardian for this altered book, while deep down they know the truth.”

He finished by asking Muslims to pray “that God give you strength over the aggressor Jew, and to enlighten the helpless Christian.”

Sheik Salman Odah is one of the most respected religious scholars in the country. He was imprisoned in the 1990s for calling on the government to expel all foreign troops from the Arabian peninsula and for leading an extraordinary 36-hour act of civil disobedience.

He is free now, and, though banned from teaching in schools or lecturing in the mosques, he holds classes in his home. He is cautious in what he says but unambiguous in his message:

“Put yourself in the position of people here who see the killing of the Palestinian people, and they know this all comes from the money which America pays to Israel and the weapons and airplanes America gives to Israel. America knows about nuclear weapons in Israel, but it thinks, without even knowing, there is something in Baghdad, and look what it does. Put yourself in the position of a Muslim and Arab. What would you think of America?”

The Buraydah region may be among the most conservative in Saudi Arabia; even smoking on the streets is discouraged by the religious authorities. But the attitudes are similar even to those in the toniest shopping district of the capital.

“America treats the rest of the world with such a sense of supremacy, like the rest of us are kids,” Omar Grbou, 43, said as he sipped coffee in a cafe in Riyadh’s upscale Olaya district.

In the end, observers here say, the direction the nation takes could hinge on what happens with Iraq. Though the government opposes any invasion, it still sees its alliance with America as vital, so it will probably aid the U.S. if it attacks. But Riyadh will do it reluctantly, part of a political calculation that will also rely on promoting anti-American rhetoric as a way of maintaining credibility at home.

“I am moderate,” said Prince Walid bin Talal, a multibillionaire businessman with strong ties to the United States. “I am for America publicly, but these days if you are for America, you are looked at suspiciously.

“I believe that if you have a U.N. resolution and you go by it, I think everybody can hide behind it,” he said. “Everybody wants Saddam Hussein to go. Everybody in their right mind would like Saddam Hussein to go. Otherwise they’re not saying the truth.”