(San Antonio Express) Jonathan Gurwitz - The suicide bomber who blew himself up in a U.S. mess hall in Mosul, Iraq, on Dec. 21 was Saudi Arabian, according to the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Ahmed Said Ahmed al-Ghamdi killed 22 people. His profile upsets the conventional - and faulty - perception of terrorists as uneducated, poor, and desperate individuals. Al-Ghamdi was well-educated - a medical student - from a wealthy and well-connected Saudi Arabian family. His father is a Saudi ambassador. As in many Middle Eastern countries, the Saudi government strictly controls the media and its message. Three days before the Mosul bombing, the Saudi government daily Al-Watan charged that American military forces in Iraq were savagely harvesting the organs of Iraqi insurgents to sell in the U.S. After the Mosul bombing, reining in fabrications that promote hatred and incite violence against Americans would be a small measure of good will.
2005-01-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive