Perhaps, in today's Saudi Arabia, being able to plan and partially execute such an action without getting nailed before the fact counts as a victory for al Qaeda.

Let's hope they're continually forced to lower the bar on what constitutes a "successful operation."

Don't forget that they're gonna have high placement in the draft to get some more talented prospects...

I'm not so sure, that that attack on the oil facilities was simply a moral victory. Wasn't one of the stated purpose is of such attacks to raise hell with the world's finances? Look closely and you may discover that the price of crude went up by $2.00 a barrel immediately following that attack. That seems to me a very concrete result toward the end goal.

I grant that the price increase was fairly temporary. But one can't help but wonder if there isn't some market manipulation going on here.

Sure, Bithead - maybe the Saudis staged the whole thing to get a temporary bump in the price, to swell their coffers a little bit more.

They probably faked the al Qaeda press release too.

"Don't forget that they're gonna have high placement in the draft to get some more talented prospects..."

Ha! I got a good laugh from that. Thanks.

Honestly I think Al Qaeda is required to declare victory after every attack. If Osama came out and said "We faught a good game but in the end we just could make the shots (no pun intended)" I would imagine recruiting would take a serious hit. Claiming failure in attacks it not the type of thing which gets people to sign up. Nobody wants to be a the Bode Miller of martyrdom.

No, Bartman... not the Saudis.
AlQuieda. Surely, you dont think the activities they've been pursuing, were done without money?

"The authenticity of the statements could not be independently confirmed."

We don't know what happened. We don't know to what extent the attack failed, yet. Depending on how many al Qaeda observers got away, al Qaeda might not know what happened.

al Qaeda in saudi arabia needs to be very careful with their symbolism. They might not have to do very well at that to be more popular than the saudi monarchy, a low bar, but they want to be popular enough they get volunteers to do suicide bombing. So they need targets that people agree are good symbolic targets. Schools and hospitals are no good for that.

Wasting the nation's oil is probably not particularly good symbolically. But reducing exports, when every saudi knows their dwindling oil is more valuable the longer they leave it in the ground....

This seems to be as good a place for any for the greatest quote of all time, from Tampa Bay Devil Rays ex-GM Chuck LaMar:
"The only thing that keeps this organization as being recognized as one of the best in baseball is wins and losses at the Major League level."

Bithead:

I doubt al Qaeda has some sort of profit sharing deal with any OPEC nation. It's more likely they're operating on (a) bin Laden's residual fortune - he did have many millions, and (b) the money the Taliban looted from the Kabul treasury before they left town - estimated to be in the area of $110 million.

The problem with the farm system is that you simply can't get good coaches! Experience counts, and when we're talking about successful suicide bombers.....

Well, let's just say that Mohammed Atta isn't available any more....

The problem with the farm system is that you simply can't get good coaches! Experience counts, and when we're talking about successful suicide bombers.....

Well, let's just say that Mohammed Atta isn't available any more....

Matthew, re: draft position...nice point. And they're going to need the high draft choices, because I'm pretty sure that due to the vagaries of the free agent market, al qaeda is way above the salary cap of 1800 virgins a year. Quote Osama, "do I look like f---ing steinbrenner?!!! You think I just pluck virgins off my virgin tree and send them up to heaven so all you dead bastards can collect on this sh**?!!!" Later on, feeling more collected, Osama pointed out that everyone deals with the cap system, and, in the end, it helps to achieve parity. "there's a a lot of small market teams that don't have our financial resources and market share." He went on to point out that smaller market teams, like Hamas, and Hezbollah had been consistently good year after year despite lesser resources. Bin Laden ended his news conference early before he was able to address the upcoming collective bargaining agreement talks, although recent statements indicate owners have reached tentative agreements with zealots, militants, and true believers, but that radicals were holding out for an extra four virgins upon ascension.

...collective bargaining...bwahahahahahah....

Dan, I'm not around here all the time, but your humor here strikes me as a little twisted....and I like it. Are you always this way, or has Hyde Park (or U of C) taken a small piece of your sanity?

Bart;

I doubt they do as well.

Then again, there's always the open market to invest in... at just the time when they know there's going to be a large price increase.... one they create. All of which can be undertaken by third parties... all without any connection at all between AQ and the house of Saud.

Follow?