Rusty Shackleford has some questions:
Could Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, the man accused of being involved in an al Qaeda plot to assassinate President Bush be simply following the dictates of a conscience tempered by a radical Islamic education in suburban Virginia?
Was the Saudi government reluctant to press charges against Abu Ali because his father was a diplomat?
Was the Saudi government so slow in turning the suspected al Qaeda member over to American authorities for so long because of the embarassing connections between the Embassy, the school, and the House of Saud?
Just the musings of a pajama-clad nutcase, working without the benefit of facts? Hardly. Rusty did a little research into Ahmed Omar Abu Ali and his Saudi connections:
While an American citizen by birth, his father Omar Abu Ali is a naturalized US citizen but works as a systems analyst at the Royal Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, DC. Further, the web page of the school attended by Ahmed Omar Abu Ali indicates that admissions priority is given to the children of Saudi diplomats (h/t: Kevin Aylward).
Click on over and read the whole thing. I'm especially interested to see if the Saudi Embassy responds to Rusty's written questions to them.
I'll let you know if they get back to me.
They made a statement denying any torture, but no one, except Rusty apparently, has asked if the father worked for the Embassy.
My soccer team used to play against the team from the Saudi Academy every year. They were very good, but they didn't hesitate to play rough, cheat, whine to referees, cuss at us in Arabic, or run up the score (we got beaten 10-0 one year). Lovely children.
Of course, he also could have ended up in jail because of Saudi politics.
Rusty,
Love you on King of the Hill!
