King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President Barack Obama of the United States at the White House in Washington DC, June 29, 2010 (White House/Pete Souza)
Saudi Arabia Plans To Pitch Obama For Regime Change In Syria -- Al Monitor
Saudi Arabia is belatedly taking steps to discourage Saudi citizens from traveling to Syria to join al-Qaeda in the war against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. King Abdullah this month issued a royal decree banning travel abroad to join jihadist movements, and imposing jail terms of up to 20 years for violating the decree.
Estimates of the number of Saudis fighting in Syria range as high as 2,500. Some are hardened veterans of earlier jihads in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Iraq. A few are compatriots of Osama bin Laden. Others traveled to Syria from the kingdom, despite individual travel bans imposed for dissident activities at home. Some traveled directly through major Saudi airports, leading many observers to conclude they were encouraged by the authorities to leave the kingdom and go fight Assad. For over two years, the Saudi government seemed to turn a blind eye to travel by its citizens — even political dissidents — to Syria.
The royal decree has now been endorsed by Crown Prince Salman, the Council of Ministers and some senior Wahhabi clerics. Similar legislation is under review in Kuwait, which has also sent several hundred fighters to Syria and is a major source of private funding for Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s official arm in Syria. Some Saudi sources claim that up to 20% of the Saudis who went to Syria have now come home, and the Saudi press has lauded the government for assisting their return.
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My Comment: The Americans are not going to comply .... both countries are just too far apart on what needs to be done in Syria.
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