One western diplomat with a taste for history said it felt like the run up to the French revolution - A gilded aristocracy out of touch with its people was losing control of the situation.
That's pretty much what it feels like here, too. This article is, however, about Saudi Arabia and the car bombing in Riyadh.
The Saudi Government has promised to crush the militants with an iron fist, but a hardline cleric I spoke with said that would only provoke more attacks.
And the question hanging in the air is whether this government which for so long had denied it even had a terrorist problem can not put down those people who have thrived in a climate of political repression and religious extremism, a climate the House of Saud helped to foster.
Can they not take a cue from America's position right this very moment?
The lid is not going to be put back on this box. Iron fists will not do the trick here.
And "losing control of the situation" may be the year's greatest understatement.
Saturday, November 15, 2003
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