Dean Esmay wonders if this editorial in the Saudi-controlled Arab News indicates that the Saudis could be about to join the war on terrorism for real.

It goes without saying that those responsible, those who poisoned the minds of the bombers, those who are planning to become bombers, must be tracked down and crushed - remorselessly and utterly. But crushing them will not be enough. The environment that produced such terrorism has to change. The suicide bombers have been encouraged by the venom of anti-Westernism that has seeped through the Middle East's veins, and the Kingdom is no less affected.

This is exactly what we want to hear, so I don't believe a word of it. Let's put ourselves in the place, for a moment, of a government that has total control of its own press. We - the Saudis - have a problem, (our country is totally messed up), and this problem is really, really difficult for us to solve. We've also got a friendly country which we've been able to fool for decades into believing that our problem doesn't exist. What is the most logical thing for us to do when the problem becomes more obvious, and the friendly country begins drifts away? Actually try to solve the problem, or try to fool our "friends" again? The Arab News is an english newspaper, aimed at Westerners. It's the only news source most of us have in Saudi Arabia. A good propaganda ministry, having the aims the Saudi's seem to have, would be stupid not to make the Arab News look like an real, independent, Western-style newspaper, with diverse opinion pieces that sound like they're written by actual people, not the Iraqi information minister. I know I could fake that, so I assume the Saudi's can too.

Dean also quotes a Saudi newspaper article in Arabic, translated by MEMRI, which says something similar, with weaker words. I'm not convinced by that either. The Saudi's know that these newspapers are translated for foreigners - by groups like MEMRI. And a good propagandist knows when to stop pretending there is no problem, and when to start pretending he's as appalled and shocked as you are. Notice, for instance, how these editorials seem to put all the blame on religious fanatics, not the government. The language a statement is made in is in any case more important in areas that actually have a kind of public opinion, and popular movements that are out of reach of the government - for instance Palestine. What Arafat says in Arabic isn't completely irrelevant, because he doesn't physically control all his territories. What the Saudi government through its media say in Arabic doesn't matter at all, unless the words are followed by actions. They themselves are the only ones who can prevent attacks like this in the future, not the Saudi people. The only thing that matters is what the they actually decide do about it, and in absence of reliable information about the actual internal policies of the Saudi government, I think we should assume the worst.

I think that, at minimum, the shift in tone indicates that they are worried.

We'll see what we see otherwise.

Unfortunately, editorials do not always reflect popular opinion. It is heartening to see that these types of opinions can be published.

The shift of tone probably means _something_, but not the same thing as a shift of tone would in editorials in a free country. We can't think of these editorials as reflecting what anyone of the Saudi government or people actually believes. They could, but they may just as well be written deliberately to give us that impression. There's just no way for us to know until the words are put into practice.

Having been raised by arabs, one thing i can ber certain of is this: an op-ed is meaningless. it's atmosphere for the satisfaction of the moment. They need a LOT more misery to face up to their own involvement in all of this.

Look - someone INTENDED us to think that there's a "shift in tone." There is an intelligencia in the arab world (even in saudi) that worries more about its' image (and self image) than the well being of plain old folks. That's what's behind any spirit you might detect.

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