ABSTRACT
The Saudi state deems the Koran to be its constitution, forbids the practice of any religion but Islam on its territory, employs an intolerant religious police, and imposes gender apartheid. Early on November 9, 2001, the Taliban regime ruled almost 95 percent of Afghanistan. Ten days later, it controlled just 15 percent of the country. Key to this quick disintegration was the fact that, awed by American air power, many Taliban soldiers switched sides to the US-backed Northern Alliance. The four bombings in Saudi Arabia in mid-May 2003, which killed thirty-four, including eight Americans, are symptomatic of a deep fissure in that country. When the Taliban regime fell in December 2001, Al-Qaeda lost most of its training, communications, and funding capabilities. Some Al-Qaeda personnel moved to northern Iraq—until coalition forces took over there; others remain active in Iran.
