The Efficiency of the Counter Terrorism Program in Saudi Arabia Thesis

The Efficiency of the Counter Terrorism Program in Saudi Arabia - Thesis Example Terrorism has been a major focus of nations across the globe, since the events of September 11, 2001 in the United States and various terrorist attacks throughout the world. Despite the strong desire to curb terrorism, and a ‘war on terror’, there has been no consensus definition of what terrorism entails or the most effective method to stop it. Saudi Arabia is in an unusual position, as it is a highly religious state that follows the Islamic religion, yet condemns terrorism. Although it took Saudi Arabia until 2003 to effectively respond to the terrorist threat, the state has been vigilant in fighting terrorism within its borders and overseas. Saudi Arabia’s approach to terrorism has been to fight it by using a ‘soft’ method, which focuses on the rehabilitation of extremists, their deradicalization and integration back into society. The presence of terrorism has become a strong focus of governments and the media since the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. For most European countries finding a way of countering terrorism has been a top priority . The attacks were perceived as being immoral and were undertaken by people who were evil and wanted to destroy the way of live and values of the United States. The response was the beginning of a global war that has focused on the eradication of terrorism throughout the world. However, while this approach views terrorism as a recent event, primarily occurring against the United States, the truth is that terrorism has been present for a long time before these acts, in many different countries. 2. The aim of this paper is to examine the counter terrorism methods that have been and are being used in Saudi Arabia, with particular emphasis on the so-called ‘soft’ model of counter terrorism that has been incorporated. It is argued that Saudi Ar abia is dedicated to fighting terrorism both within its own borders and outside of them, and that their approach to combating extremism and terrorism has the potential to be highly effective. II. Literature Review There has been considerable debate in the western world whether Saudi Arabia is a friend or a foe in the so-called ‘War on Terror’. On one hand, many of the extremists who have committed acts of terrorism come from within Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia is Islamic, as are those involved in terrorism. However, Saudi Arabia has also publically renounced terrorism and has been working with western countries to try and stem the rise of terrorism. Studies on Saudi Arabia’s approach to terrorism have varied in whether they consider the country’s efforts to be positive or negative, especially in relation to the way in which people who have been arrested for terrorist affiliations are treated. One report focused on the counter terrorism response of Saudi Arabia from the perspective of human rights. Saudi Arabia’s most prominent mechanism of dealing with those who are suspected of being involved with terrorist activities is their incarceration and religious reeducation. In this report, the authors focused on the fact that many individuals are detained indefinitely