n4292936
05-30-2004, 07:17 AM
I used to live in Dahran in the part of the Aramco compound known as The Hills, 30 minutes from Khobar, and 20 minutes from the Oasis compound. My parents received the following email from a friend they still have over there. I have ommited the irelevant bits. :
....We're not leaving on an exit-only, but I won't come back unless I am very confident of the security.
You won't read it in the news, but here's how they got into the Oasis compound, supposedly the best-guarded compound in Khobar. They pulled up in a military truck right at the time of the morning shift change. The guys on guard just stepped down from their gun turrets and sauntered over to the truck. The militants opened fire and drove right in! It was THAT easy.
They must have had that compound under surveillance for some time, and I'm sure they're working out ways to breach the security at the Aramco main gate too. It shouldn't be too difficult: it consists of a few Aramco security guards and one guy with a machine gun. Our real and only safety lies in the fact that this compound is just so very big, and the likelihood of them getting to my house is remote. But I don't want to play those kind of odds - living here is not worth dying for, and now that Andrew has graduated, I have no reason to be here. The Saudi Arabia we all loved for so many years is just a fond memory.
and there you have a first hand account. The security guards, when I was there, were mainly pakistanis and some Saudis, though this may have changed given recent circumstances. These events bode poorly for the Saudi economy given that the expat community drives much of it.
....We're not leaving on an exit-only, but I won't come back unless I am very confident of the security.
You won't read it in the news, but here's how they got into the Oasis compound, supposedly the best-guarded compound in Khobar. They pulled up in a military truck right at the time of the morning shift change. The guys on guard just stepped down from their gun turrets and sauntered over to the truck. The militants opened fire and drove right in! It was THAT easy.
They must have had that compound under surveillance for some time, and I'm sure they're working out ways to breach the security at the Aramco main gate too. It shouldn't be too difficult: it consists of a few Aramco security guards and one guy with a machine gun. Our real and only safety lies in the fact that this compound is just so very big, and the likelihood of them getting to my house is remote. But I don't want to play those kind of odds - living here is not worth dying for, and now that Andrew has graduated, I have no reason to be here. The Saudi Arabia we all loved for so many years is just a fond memory.
and there you have a first hand account. The security guards, when I was there, were mainly pakistanis and some Saudis, though this may have changed given recent circumstances. These events bode poorly for the Saudi economy given that the expat community drives much of it.