I just cannot imagine the same planners behind 9/11 and the simple car bombings in Riyadh. Bin Laden must be mad to attack the Saudis, his only reliable base. And demanding what? Withdrawal of the infidels? Americans long ago agreed to withdraw their troops from Hijaz. Withdrawal of Western oil corporations? But Saudi oil is nominally handled by a state corporation. Cessation of oil sales to the West? Islamists are not silly; they surely realize that without oil Arab countries and welfare systems will collapse under the weight of an exploding population.
But sure enough, al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Saudi bombing attempt, even named two bombers. On other hand, isn’t it odd that two of the most wanted militants took on such a lowly job?
Hasn’t al Qaeda threatened such attacks before? Certainly not in any clear way. Al Qaeda insisted that the USS Cole belonged to Christians, and was not prone to attacking a Muslim country.
The whole al Qaeda involvement seems odd to me.