Yeah, like this is going to work.
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia offered Islamic militants a limited amnesty Wednesday, saying their lives would be spared if they surrendered but they would face the "full might" of state wrath if they did not. The ultimatum, issued in the name of King Fahd, called on militants to turn themselves in within a month — suggesting the kingdom was paving the way for a stepped up campaign against al-Qaida-linked fighters who have shaken the country with a series of deadly attacks. At the same time, the Saudi foreign minister denounced calls by militant clergy for Saudis to travel to Iraq to join insurgents battling the U.S. military and its Iraqi allies. Some have said that at least one of the guerrillas who killed and beheaded a South Korean hostage in Iraq this week may be Saudi, since the guerrilla spoke Arabic in what seemed to be a Saudi dialect. The ultimatum was read by Crown Prince Abdullah, the king's half brother and the country's de facto ruler, using some of the fiercest language yet against militants. Abdullah said the offer was open to anyone who has not yet been "arrested for carrying out terrorist acts." "We are opening the door of amnesty ... to everyone who deviated from the path of right and committed a crime in the name of religion," the crown prince said. "We swear by God that nothing will prevent us from striking with our full might, which we derive from relying on God," Abdullah said.{emphasis mine} Let me see if I've got this straight. What we have here are two separate groups of Muslims, each claiming that God supports their cause. One doesn't like the other because they're a wee bit repressive in what God allows their people to have, namely democracy. One says stop in the name of God but the other doesn't believe they're a legitimate source for God's works and deeds. They're not going to stop and they will probably have a good laugh over this amnesty offer. And all of this---on both sides---is all done in the name of Allah. Got irony? Posted by Kathy at June 1, 2004 04:46 PM | TrackBack