Saudi Arabia, Friend or Foe? The Naval Air Station Pensacola Terrorist mass-shooting

[Note: The first half of the following essay is from a veteran with 20+ years of military aviation service, a Naval Aviator who flew combat missions in Iraq, and who also spent 15+ years assigned to military counter-terrorism duties. He also served as a flight instructor at NAS Pensacola. It is a sobering, no BS insight into a potentially very serious matter, by a knowledgeable authority on his subject matter. The second half of the piece consists of my own observations, based on my 15 years in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, working for the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MoDA).]

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“I reported to Building 633 at Naval Air Station Pensacola in October of 2002. Checking in to flight school is a point in time for each future aviator that is never forgotten. Nobody becomes a Naval Aviator by accident.

“Setting foot on the quarterdeck (Note: arriving at the front desk) and dropping your orders to get stamped at Naval Aviation Schools Command is the culmination of years of applications, college, physical training, aptitude screenings, FBI background checks, and performance well above your peer group who had also been competing for the coveted ‘pilot spot’. If you get there via the Naval Academy, ROTC, or Officer Candidate School, when you get to Pensacola you have ‘made it’, but you are also just starting.  

“Instructors and staff refer to the entirety of the training program as ‘The Pipeline’. The start of The Pipeline is the front desk at Building 633 in Pensacola. This is where the first reality check for future aviators sets in, as class and flights don’t start the next day. There are only a certain number of seats for each API (Aviation Preflight Indoctrination) class, and there is a waiting list. ‘A-Pool’ is where you wait (a pool of people, not of water). Building 633 is where A-Pool is administered, and where the weekly Friday morning muster takes place, and where the next week’s ‘class up’ list is announced. This is where the terrorist attack took place.  

“The Naval Aviation Training ‘Pipeline’ at a glance:

“-‘A-Pool’. Pensacola.

“-Aviation Preflight Indoctrination (API), 4 weeks of academic classes and water survival courses. Pensacola.

“-Primary Flight Training (150ish hours in a T-6 Texan). Pensacola or Corpus [Christi]

“-Advanced Flight Training (Jets, Props, Helicopters). Wings are earned at completion of Advanced. Pensacola (Helicopters), Corpus (Props), Kingsville & Meridian (Jets)

“-Fleet Replacement Squadron. (Learning your fleet aircraft). Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard aviators all go through the same training pipeline through Advanced.

“It was just after 0700 last Friday when my phone starting ringing. A relative’s best friend called her in a panic because her husband wasn’t responding and she wanted to know if I knew anything. Luckily, he is a doctor at the hospital at Corry Station, about 3 miles away and nowhere near the shooting and I was able to put them at ease for his safety.

“I had a group chat with about 20 officers still in the area. Friends and co-workers were exchanging information, all of them aviators, many still on lock-down. Some of them were directly in charge of the response and involved in the investigation. All of this is available now in open media, but the following is what I know.

“The Saudi terrorist checked in on Monday and seemed ‘normal’. He held a ‘dinner party’ on Thursday night with more than 10 Royal Saudi Air Force Officers in attendance. At this party, they watched videos of mass shootings, mostly Islamic propaganda. The next morning, Friday, he systematically attacked building 633 while one of his fellow officers followed closely and filmed the incident, while several other Saudis waited and observed the attack from a car.

“The attacker started at the Quarterdeck (front desk), and the 3 personnel killed were on duty at the time. Ensign Watson, the duty officer, was shot 5 times but still managed to call first responders and evacuate the building and personally direct them to the location of the shooter, prior to his dying of his wounds. The other 2 killed were also in the immediate vicinity of the quarterdeck. Many of the wounded were as well, some being wounded as they tried to climb out of windows.

“Per Navy policy, no one on the base had weapons with which to defend themselves with against the attacker.

“The first responders that confronted the shooter were from the local sheriff’s department. Two of them were wounded in the ensuing gun battle, and the terrorist was killed. Three active duty Americans were dead, 8 more wounded, 2 deputies wounded. Many of the wounded were shot through the doors of classrooms on multiple floors of building 633. Most of the base remained on lock-down well into the afternoon as the base was systematically searched for the missing Saudi terrorists’ officers. By day’s end, 6 additional Saudi Arabian officers were in FBI custody and several were at large in the community; a man-hunt is still underway.

“So, over a 5 day span, the terrorist checked in, acquired a handgun with 4 extended magazines and ammunition, posted a manifesto online condemning the US as a ‘nation of evil’ along Islamist and anti-Israeli lines, planned and executed his attack with at least 3 accomplices. At least 10 Saudi Military Officers knew of the plan, and either participated actively or did nothing to stop it. Each one of these individuals had passed the screening process to come train in the United States. That brief recount of the chain of events begs a series of questions, some of which are easier to answer than others.

"Here are a couple of the most obvious questions, and my best effort to answer them:

“Was this terrorism?

“Absolutely. Much has been made of the lack of a formal declaration by the military or other Federal Authority, but I understand the delay. Not only is a key long-term alliance at stake (more on that later), but there are several members of the Royal Saudi delegation still at large within the United States. If you declare all of them terrorists, it makes the possibility of an orderly surrender virtually zero. On the off-chance that these guys were at Waffle House at the time of the attack and are freaked out and hiding, it’s propitious to not label them terrorists, yet. Nevertheless, US Congressman Gaetz has appropriately called this terrorism and called for a review of entire program.

“Why are we training Saudis in Pensacola?

 "While the brightest light is on the Saudis in the program, we train aviators from multiple nations in Pensacola. Germany, Sweden, and Singapore also have a large volume of students train in Pensacola. The obvious comparison to this incident is to the fact that the majority of the 9-11 highjackers trained in Florida. It is an important distinction to note that all of those individuals were civilians and had no interaction with any military training program.

“It is equally important to note that an estimated 10+ members of the Royal Saudi Air Force knew of a planned mass murder of American military personnel, and either participated in it or agreed in principal to allow it to happen.

“Saudi Arabia is currently our strongest ally in the Middle East. We base troops there, we stage equipment there, we get our fuel for operations from there. If we are going to be involved in the Middle East, we need an ally like Saudi Arabia.

“We were also allies with Iran, until the Islamic Revolution there resulted in the famous hostage situation. Then we were allies with Iraq, until Saddam fired on the USS Stark (killing 37 sailors) and subsequently invaded Kuwait. At present, we are allied with Saudi Arabia, for now.

“What is it like training an international student?

“Each nation is different, and it was interesting to see some stereotypes play out and interact with different cultures. The Swedish and Norwegians were your typical vikings. The Germans were often humorless, focused, and smart. The Singaporeans were incredibly disciplined and this particular group of students policed itself in an impressive manner. Any Sing(aporian) who did poorly on a flight or test would have the other students ensure they did well the next time around. I’d gladly fight alongside any of these guys any day of the week. I stay in touch with several of my students as their careers advance.

“The Saudi students have an entirely different reputation and structure to their training. While all of the other nations employ a form of meritocracy to be in the flight program, the Saudi students are typically the children of a Saudi sheik, politician, or member of a rich/important Saudi family. They all drive luxury vehicles and flaunt their wealth to the other students and instructors. It isn’t unusual to see a Saudi student wearing designer shoes that cost thousands of dollars in uniform, instead of their regulation issued shoes or boots.

“The Saudis do not stand any of the squadron watches (like assistant OoD, where the flight schedule is executed), while other nations participate fully in squadron functions. The Saudis also have a cadre of senior officers in Pensacola, ostensibly to monitor and aid the progress of the students. They employ a number of former/retired (US) Navy pilots to serve as tutors to the Saudis, and also to provide instruction on how to properly interact with their US instructors and in American society at large. The retired officers also act as a liaison to the American command structure.

“Our instructors are told that we can only instruct the Saudis in flying technique. Issues regarding disciple, respect, or military bearing, etc. all have to be referred to the liaisons. Those issues are rampant among the Saudi contingent and are well known among the chain of command. While there are certainly some Saudi students who have been respectful and disciplined, the prevalent norm is that of an aloof, arrogant child who gives the appearance of seeming to feel he is superior to his instructor.

“American and non-Saudi international students are expected to show up to the pre-flight briefs ready to explain all of the concepts required in the flight to the instructor (proof they study and paid attention in class). Saudi students often show up at briefs unprepared to meet that standard and expect the material to be presented to them anew. The norm for the Saudis is to pass the student regardless of performance, unless they are simply a clear danger to themselves, then they get referred back through the liaisons.

“We are paid to move them through the pipeline and deliver them having completed the syllabus. We can’t make them study. One friend had a Saudi student refuse to recover an aircraft from a spin; he simply threw up his hands and stated “If Allah wills it, it will recover.” This was during out-of-control flight, with the aircraft falling several thousand feet per minute. The instructor took controls, recovered from the spin, and returned base. That student eventually graduated.

"I have had conversations over the last 3 days with at least a dozen current or former Navy flight instructors. Unanimously, the sentiment is that Saudis should be expelled from training in our program. Not only is there legitimate concern for personal safety and national security, there is a general feeling that they won’t be able to put their feelings and emotions aside and comply with required training.

“Why did the Sheriff's Department have to stop the shooting and not active duty watch-standers or military police?

“In short, because the sailors at NAS Pensacola were failed by their leadership.

“After the Naval Reserve Center in Chattanooga was attacked by a Muslim terrorist, then-Candidate Trump was critical of the policy of military members being disarmed while on duty. The only reason that the Chattanooga body count wasn’t higher was because the Navy Commanding Officer (an aviator) had purposefully disregarded policy and had his personal handgun with him in his office, with which he confronted the attacker and returned fire. He would later say that he disregarded policy because the safety of his command was his ultimate responsibility. His actions that day defended his command and saved lives.

“The next ideation of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) included provisions to allow commanders the discretion to allow CHL (concealed weapons permit) holders to bring their personal weapons onto base to defend themselves in similar instances. Tragically, no US commander has yet had the guts to implement the allowances granted by law.

"We didn’t learn our lessons with the Fort Hood shooting, The Navy Yard Shooting, The Chattanooga Shooting, so now we have this. Will we finally recognize the threat and allow those who have sworn to defend the constitution of the United States the ability to defend themselves while at work on US soil? I doubt it. Sadly, I think it will take an action similar to what President Trump took with Chief Gallagher to make stubborn and stupid Navy leadership do what is the obvious and correct course of action.

“Should we have seen this coming?

“Absolutely. When I told my father (a retired Naval Aviator) that a foreign student was responsible, he responded “I’ll bet it was a Saudi.”

“A brother is a veteran Naval Flight Officer who trained in Pensacola. His response, “It’s probably a Saudi.”

My neighbor from Pensacola who now flies for an airline told me “Mother F***, you know it was a Saudi!”

“For some reason, there is a political push to excuse these attacks as one-off, or that the perpetrator was ‘radical’. The news is already saying “There is no direct link to a terrorist organization”…as if ISIS gives out membership IDs and T-Shirts. The Politically Correct folks tell us to not judge an entire religion or culture by the actions of a single individual.

“The Factually Correct among us look at this chain of events and see no coincidences. The fact that such a large portion of the Saudi contingent knew of the impending attack and chose to participate and none chose to stop it show the truth that many have long known but few in leadership will acknowledge. The actions taken by this Royal Saudi Officer were not at all ‘extremist’. His views and actions were well in line with the mainstream Saudi Officer in the unit.

“Defenders of Islam will say that it is a ‘Religion of Peace’ and only ‘extremists’ join the terror groups. With sad irony, many critics of Islamic terrorism have observed the rise of ISIS, with their pool of men and resources flowing largely from Sunni Saudi Arabia, and have stated that it’s the extremist Muslim who is actually fighting, but the peaceful Muslim is the majority (they just write the checks!). The example in Pensacola shows us that if it’s the minority extremist shooting his classmates, it’s also the peaceful Muslim standing alongside, filming.

“Students of history will know that these terror attacks are not random nor motivated by ‘extreme’ thinking. It is an American tendency to think that history started in 1776, or maybe 1492 at the earliest. Our schools teach us world history and reference battles that took place in Europe as being between ancient empires like the Romans and Ottomans.

“They leave the parts out that illustrate that it was the HOLY Roman Empire that defeated the ISLAMIC Caliphate in Vienna, September 11th 1683. This military defeat and its date are etched into the cultural identity of every Muslim just like the Alamo and San Jacinto are taught to kids in Texas. The only difference is that Texas school children don’t have a religious document telling them that the conquest continues and it is their life-long Jihad to install Islam as the law of the entire world.

 "The events in Pensacola last Friday are minuscule in the scope of world history. It is, however, a perfect illustration of the war of cultures (and yes, religions) that we currently find ourselves as participants in. While the Politically Correct in Washington will likely downplay the details and work to wipe the event from the headlines to preserve an alliance, the Factually Correct among us are still walking the streets with Saudi terrorists at large.

“Those of us in our military will follow the orders they gave their oaths to adhere to, though we strongly disagree with them. We will likely continue to risk our lives and work to train people that hate us, and would kill us if given the opportunity. The King of Saudi Arabia can say that actions like this don’t reflect those held in his Kingdom. The facts, however, make him a liar.

“Where do we go from here?

“1. Immediately allow all Commissioned Officers and senior NCOs (E-7+) who are qualified (military or CHL) to carry a military equivalent or issued weapon while on duty.

 "2. All Saudi personnel in the US should be restricted to base, and have their quarters searched for weapons. If they had no knowledge, they should be expelled and deported. If they did have knowledge or participated, they should be executed.

 “3. Suspend training Saudi personnel indefinitely. Only resume the program when the FBI can conduct background checks for each student and officer. Once screened and admitted, Saudi students should be restricted to base and not allowed into the community.

 “4. Evaluate the ‘alliance’ between the US and Saudi Arabia beyond the fact that they are a client nation buying billions of dollars in weapons and training. Is our strategic relationship with the Saudi government worth the cost inflicted on us by a Saudi population which clearly hates us and continues to do us harm? Do the officers that we train for combat ever actually participate in conflict in a meaningful way that support US interests or relieve demand on US forces? If not, disband the program forever.

 “5. Be better students of history. Value reality above wishful thinking. Judge cultures and religions by what they do, rather than what they want you to think. Take political blinders off and build and execute policy based on reality rather than wishful thinking.”

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[My notes in response begin here, on the above opinion]

As a commentary on the foregoing, I spent 15 years in the Kingdom, employed by the Saudi Ministry of Defense & Aviation (MoDA) in various capacities. Additionally, unlike many of the expatriate Americans who were quartered on expatriate compounds in country, I spent most of my contracts living among the Saudis themselves (both RSAF and civilian, in Taif and in Riyadh), so I know a thing or two about the Saudi mentality and mind-set. However, I should in all fairness caveat that by saying that since I left the Kingdom for the last time (1997), things have changed remarkably in a number of ways.

Overall, whereas back in my day there was far tighter overall control of young dissidents and individuals with extreme leanings (e.g. those favoring Wahabbist interpretations of Islam), since 1997 (when King Fahad was still the reigning monarch) the changes in the Saudi government (i.e. several changes in the monarchy) have resulted in far less restriction on expression of extremist attitudes & convictions. There's little evidence to suggest that there is NOT a far greater proportion of extremist radicals in elite organisations such as the RSAF and in fact the opinions expressed by the author of this FWD’ed essay are generally true, especially as regards the RSAF officers being the scions of influential Royal Family members.

Flying fast jets is considered an elite activity by impressionable, status conscious young Saudis from influential families and for this reason, as well as because flying complex aircraft is a job that requires a higher degree of intelligence than other military 'jobs', the RSAF has tended to attract youthful & intelligent young idealists (read: radicalism). It is interesting to note that the air force, as a service reflecting the most glamour and status among all military services, has this same tendency to attract wealthy, privileged youths in many other nations of the world (nations in SEA, included). In Saudi Arabia, however, the formula is considerably complicated by the basic nature of Saudis in general, who tend as a group to be highly volatile and prone to emotional extremes...something that was once most interestingly explained to me by an Egyptian PhD I had as a flatmate, who attributed this 'black/white' extremely polar duality of personality that Arabs possess to the unforgiving nature of the geographic Arab environment.

The arid, desert regions do not favor mildness (my Egyptian friend explained); rather life in the Southwest Asian region is best characterised by severe extremes of heat and cold, not temperate conditions of climatic moderation. This basic essence of desert geophysical reality is therefore perfectly reflected in the temper and emotional volatility of the region's inhabitants. It is thus no great mystery that extremist Wahabbism and radical Shia interpretations of Islam originated in the Arabian peninsula, the land where Islam itself came into being, as any astute scholar of the area well knows.

Thus, many young RSAF officers tend to be petulant, excessively spoiled and accustomed to having their way; they are not well adapted to discipline, rules, regulations and the strictness required of military personnel. Coming from wealthy, highly influential Saudi families, they tend to routinely disregard rules that all others are expected to strictly conform to. But as members of the 15,000 or so 'Royal Family', they have lived their entire lives entirely 'above and beyond' the otherwise strict constraints that ordinary Saudis MUST conform to (or suffer dire consequences).

When I was in Saudi, I was attached to the military medical facilities at King Fahad Air Base (an outlying adjunct of the Al Hada Military Hospital complex in Taif), specifically RSAF's 5th Fighter Squadron (5 FS), and had interactions both with the RSAF pilots and their American instructors just about every day. I personally found the young Saudi pilots to be extremely egoists (a typical fighter pilot characteristic they have no universal franchise on, of course) and willful, personal qualities which the American IPs confirmed to me were undeniable. [One of the latter relayed details of a hair-raising incident he experienced one day, whilst on a training flight with an echelon of RSAF students: one of the Saudi students actually activated and launched an AIM missile while trailing the instructor's bird, after apparently locking on him for a dry-fire exercise. Why they were training with live missiles, I have no idea!]

On another occasion, one of the young Saudi pilots who had been just fitted with a Holter 24-hour cardiac monitor went out to the 5th FS flightline and entered the cockpit of one of the squadron's birds on the ramp, ostensibly to retrieve some cigarettes he had left in it (!), where he was stopped by an RSAF security guard and challenged for 'wearing a destructive explosive package' (the Holter unit, which is about the size of a small bomb) in a restricted area. He remained belligerently dismissive of the guard, insisting that he was a Royal Family member and therefore not subject to the restrictions in place. A quick call to the base commander (also a Royal Family member) quickly chastened the guard!

All of these incidents strongly reinforce the commentary refernced at the beginning of this blog, and all that was back in the later 90s! I can't even begin to imagine the post-Osama radicalism that today may exist in the RSAF. But to say that most (if not all) young RSAF pilots/officers regard themselves as similarly exceptional is certainly reflective of the true present circumstances, nor is it an exaggeration to say that there is a hard core of popular radical Islamic sentiment that is pervasive among the junior ranks of the RSAF officer corps. I can't speak to the more senior RSAF officers in terms of their own political and religious sentiments, but as older, supposedly more mature members of that service, one might suppose that they are a degree or two more conservative and far less radical. Those senior officers that I dealt with back at KFRSAFB (and also both at King Abdul Aziz Air Base in Dhahran and Riyadh Air Base) were far more restrained and stable in their political and religious attitudes (but then, they also had careers to lose).

Despite the general validity of the above remarks about senior RSAF officers, I well recall (as relayed to me by some American ‘Peace Sun’ program advisors) an incident at King Fahad Air Base in Taif that involved a very senior RSAF officer. The commander of that base’s primary squadron (5th FS) was given the privilege of flying the squadron’s very first McDonnell-Douglas F-15 into the base. He did so, coming in a bit too hot on final and ‘aero-braking’ (attempting to bleed off excess speed aerodynamically, with a high angle of attack) just before touching down on the runway.

Unfortunately, his speed and AoA were excessive and he managed to effectively grind off a substantial portion of the fuselage's lower tailcone exhaust nozzles. The damage was both extensive and rather costly, but news of this difficulty was fairly well-shielded from the news media at the time, since it would have been a gross embarrassment not just for the RSAF, but for the unfortunate Saudi colonel flying the bird. Even ‘senior’, more mature officers can be a bit volatile in the conduct of their airmanship: QED.

One final incident that is both chucklesome and an indication of deficit RSAF airman proficiency took place at a review of flying proficiency for the King and a list of high-ranking Saudi officers. The reviewing stand was located not far from a large RSAF hanger that housed several of the new F-15 Eagles that had been delivered to the Saudis under terms of an international arms agreement. Saudi pilots were, it was announced, to fly these new RSAF birds as evidence of their superb transition training into the new type.

At the given moment, these newly delivered birds taxied out of the hanger onto the ancillary taxiways in close formation, rolled out onto the active runway and took off in a perfectly coordinated tight cluster; after lifting off, they then put on a spectacular show for the dignitaries after which they landed…again in a perfect, tight group…and after taxiing in on the taxiway, rolled back into the hanger with perfect precision. No sooner had that occurred, than 5 crisply uniformed Saudi pilots, still wearing their flight gear, marched smartly out of the hanger and over to the reviewing stand, where the King lauded their skilled airmanship!

Of course, the colossal joke only McD/D ‘Peace Sun’ program insiders were in on was that the planes had been flown by American instructor pilots…not RSAF officers! Apparently, the King was never the wiser for this small fact and this should provide a clue as to the REAL proficiency of the RSAF pilots at that time!

Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia occupies a prominent position as an important US ally, one should never forget that KSA was the birthplace of both Islam AND its various radical sects, not to mention the birthplace of Osama bin Laden (who was a wealthy young radical idealist, although not a Royal Family member) and that it merely conveniently suits both nations to maintain close defense ties (given the otherwise constantly schizoid relationship we maintain with most of the other Arab nations). That said, it is also good to remember that Israel is frequently just as 'slippery' and self-serving (and well capable of dirty tricks, etc.) as the Arabs, however, a fact conveniently covered up by Christian religionists who look with solidarity to traditional Judeo-Christian ties.

The bottom line is that Americans have never bothered themselves sufficiently to completely understand all of the Southwest Asian regions' peoples, their motivations, aspirations and socio-political orientations; thus it is that we constantly misjudge, misunderstand and err in our impressions of exactly what the circumstances and conditions applicable at any given time there actually are. We have our national characteristic of thinking that everyone, everywhere thinks like Americans do, to thank for that grievous flaw in our repeated inability to interact appropriately with them.

As for the weapons issues and the training concerns consequent to the Pensacola shooting incident, I concur fully that military police should absolutely be allowed to carry weapons and live ammunition at all times on military installations...especially in consideration of the current terrorist threat that should be clear enough to everyone but the most died-in-wool leftist, liberal snowflake among us. Anything short of changing this woefully misbegotten policy is potentially criminal myopia of the most unforgivable sort.

My opinion is furthermore that given the apparent widespread level of complicity amongst RSAF junior officers and the co-dependent 'feelgood PC philosophy' of granting the worst Saudi students a free pass throughout their US training...regardless of competence and/or conformity to all training rules and regulations...the RSAF aviation training program should indeed end immediately, pending full and complete investigations of both the event and the advisability of permitting KSA to participate in this program.

Of course, as Colin Powell would probably sagely observe, this idea runs the risk of allowing Russia yet another loophole to exploit (as they did in Syria), but that possibility would simply have to be deferred to the future, for the present moment.

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Postscript: It deserves to be additionally pointed out here, that aside from the inherent (congenital?) mass 'stupid-think awareness many Americans seem to suffer from these days, the entertainment and news media many of us rely upon for ostensibly 'objective', balanced news reporting and information should properly bear a major share of the blame for America's appalling naivete in failing to see and understand this unique form of terrorist threat in reference here (since the commercial media are principally controlled by left-leaning, progressive liberal capitalist interests that subtly work to further misinformation and failures of comprehension by their viewers by parroting a line of PC thought with a definitive leftist message).

I could also make some leading remarks about the equally unsubtle 'feminisation' of America that is markedly softening our national resolve to resist things like terrorism, but I'll save them for some other time. Best wishes for a thoughtful and reflective Winter Solstice to all of you.

Postscript 2: In all fairness, I need  to add a clarifyer here. In all of my many years spent in 'the Kingdom', I made a great many excellent friends among the Saudis I lived & worked with. There are fewer better friends to be had than those you have made among the Arab peoples. They are NOT by any stretch, the half-hysterial, foaming-at-the-mouth radicals they are often made out to be (mainly by those who received 'filtered' impressions through the Israelis and American 'Christians' who think Christianity's traitional ties to Judaism and the Zionist cause mandate complete condemnation of all Arabs).

The Arab peoples are, as I stated originally, quite impassioned and inordinately emotional both by their nature and by the circumstances of their unique geography. Americans need to understand this, but far beyond that, Americans needs to take the time and make the effort to study and learn about them and their regional history.

This is a task few Americans have ever been willing to undertake and one of the direct results has been hasty, often completely unfounded assumptions and subsequently disastrous policy decisions. This status quo led to Gulf Wars 1 & 2, as it has to almost ALL of our interactions with the Arabs of the peninsula and the Gulf States, from the era of the Arab caliphate onwards.

There are many reasons why young, idealistic Arabs view America (and our materialistic, capitalistic way of life) as a 'Great Evil', but pause for a moment here to reflect upon the fact that impassioned (and often half-baked and short-sighted) idealism is a characteristic of ALL youth, all over the world.

Maturity often comes at a great personal cost, but it occurs mainly with the passage of years and the acquisition of experience with the world. There are no adequate substitutes for this process and it is, regretably, one of the main reasons why humanity is destined to remain a warlike, constantly violent race forever.

Most ordinary Arabs are NOT intellectuals (unlike the Jews, who have one of the highest proportions of intellectualism among their peoples), despite the occasional rise of a few brilliant thinkers (like Ibn Khaldun and those whose rose to prominance during the Abasid Caliphate).

It is further important to keep in mind, therefore, that until roughly 1936, most Arabs inhabiting what is now Saudi Arabia were camel-driving nomads and primitive tribesmen. As I said, a thorough study of Arab history is a basic requisite for understanding the Arabs in all their complexities, but until Americans overcome their immense naivete and cultural myopia, things are likely to remain as they are now for as many years as human beings have left on this planet, before the sun finally fries it permanently!

Although I greatly enjoyed my time spent among the Saudis, things have changed there remarkably since 1997, mainly due to the existence of so many frustrated young people with nowhere to go and nothing productive to do, but also due to the semi-repressive Monarchical government of the Kingdom. Youthful radicalism is therefore now almost epidemic (as well as endemic) in the Kingdom.

It is today generally quite unsafe to be an American identified as such within the Kingdom and I'd certainly have to think twice before returning there.  But through foreign programs like the US/Saudi Military Training Agreement, the misbegotten passionate idealism and frustration of youthful Saudi radicals now have a convenient and governmentally sanctioned outlet in the American homeland.

QED Pensicola.

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