its like theyve never done an investigation before. id like to believe they are more capable than that....
anyone have any information on cases that they have actually cracked using their own investigatory methods?
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Well I have an extended family member that is a Commander in the US Navy and he spent a year in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia from mid 2007 to mid 2008. The Saudis are actually pretty moronic, according to him. He told me they buy military equipment pretty much because they want to or just decide they want to have it. Basically, they but things because they can. When you have that much money, you can spend it on things you just plain want, even at the government level there. For example, they recently bought a brand new frigate from France and took it out for six hours (he was on the ship), fired off a couple of missles and the main gun, came back to port, celebrated their "victory" given to them by Allah, and then left it to rust because they really didn't want it or need it. The average Saudi naval crew spends very little time at sea, which is how any real navy learns how to be a fighting force. But because they have it now and spent all of six hours shaking it down, they have maintained the power structure base in the Persian Gulf and kept it in their favor. The Saudi military is a joke.
A L C _ H _ L - Sometimes alcohol is the answer
"For example, they recently bought a brand new frigate from France and took it out for six hours (he was on the ship), fired off a couple of missles and the main gun, came back to port, celebrated their "victory" given to them by Allah, and then left it to rust because they really didn't want it or need it."
I have a similar story - I know a guy (also French) who spent six years working on the design and construction of a frigate that was going to be sold to some emirate or other in the Persian Gulf. Within a month, the new owners ran it right into a ******* rock and damaged it beyond repair. Needless to say, my friend was not pleased.
Yeah, Arab armies in general suck - just ask the Israelis. I think one of the biggest reasons is that the army has been the power base for so many coups in the region (Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Syria) that their governments are more afraid of them than they are of foreigners. So they keep them happy with all the newest Western gizmos, while at the same time keeping them under control by muddying up the chain of command and creating rivalries (usually you have the regular army, and on the side you have a smaller but more elite unit like the Republican Guard). Hitler and Stalin enjoyed politicizing their military too, look where it got them...
Having said all that let's remember this is the army we're talking about. Their police, the guys who appear in The Kingdom, are probably a lot more efficient (they don't kid around with government security).
Keep flying, son. And watch that potty mouth!
""Well I have an extended family member that is a Commander in the US Navy and he spent a year in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia from mid 2007 to mid 2008. The Saudis are actually pretty moronic, according to him. He told me they buy military equipment pretty much because they want to or just decide they want to have it. Basically, they but things because they can. When you have that much money, you can spend it on things you just plain want, even at the government level there. For example, they recently bought a brand new frigate from France and took it out for six hours (he was on the ship), fired off a couple of missles and the main gun, came back to port, celebrated their "victory" given to them by Allah, and then left it to rust because they really didn't want it or need it. The average Saudi naval crew spends very little time at sea, which is how any real navy learns how to be a fighting force. But because they have it now and spent all of six hours shaking it down, they have maintained the power structure base in the Persian Gulf and kept it in their favor. The Saudi military is a joke. ""
I love how you can think all of those are true just cuz one guy told you so.
"facepalm"
My personal experience with Saudi Air fFrce is that although they have some very competent people, their system is designed to hinder them. They have to jump throguh so many hoops to get a small item accomplished, that they very often leave jet fighters sitting, unable to fly, because it's too much trouble to fix them. We were not allowed to fail them in training. They were going to pass, come Hell or high water.
During the First Gulf War, our pilot's herded an Iraqi MiG into a Saudi prince's sights so he could shoot it down. They aren't very good pilots.
The Isrealis win for a variety of reasons:
1. Technology: The Isrealis use it and everyone is trained and trusted.
2. Centralized command system: The Arabs can't organize a picnic.
3. Isreal is fighting for survival, the Arabs aren't.
4. The Muslims hate each other worse than they hate the isrealis. You ought to hear Egyptian talking about Saudis, Saudis talking about Syrians etc...Yassar Arafat said, "The Saudis will fight to the last Palestinian."
I liked the movie, I don't have any major gripes about it..it was fast paced, well done, beleivable and well acted.
Interesting read crihfields, which raises a question;
I read an anecdote by Colin Powell once about a visit he'd made to Iran before the revolution. According to one of the American instructors he met, the problem with Iranian F-14 crews was that their pilots came from the upper-class and had been trained fairly well whereas their RIOs came from the lower-class and hadn't been trained at all. Until they were, every F-14 was "half an airplane" as he put it.
I know Saudi Arabia's a very different country, but I was just wondering if you'd ever noticed anything similar there? It doesn't seem implausible that class systems would come into play in their army as well.
Keep flying, son. And watch that potty mouth!
The Muslims hate each other worse than they hate the isrealis. You ought to hear Egyptian talking about Saudis, Saudis talking about Syrians etc...Yassar Arafat said, "The Saudis will fight to the last Palestinian."
Remember too that crime in Saudi Arabia is a tiny fraction compared to the U.S. Theft and assault as we know it in the U.S is also almost completely unknown there.
And in the film (which I felt was realistic), the attack was against the Americans, and they were the victims. So the priorities for the Saudi's were different than for Americans.
Plus there are major cultural differences.
Plus the Saudi police investigative efforts may not be as complete or as experienced as the U.S. (less crime again, and different types of crime). Attacks against Saudi citizens with explosives (terrorist attacks) are also almost completely unknown.
"Aysha can do anything." - Mr. Toad, in "Outsourced."
I work with the Saudi Military and there are a small majority of them who are incompetent, but after working with the US military a couple of years ago, theres not alot of difference between them.
I'm in the UK military and were not much better either.
How the Saudi police were portrayed in the film is pretty close to how it is out here though.
Nick Rivers: Is this the potato farm?
Albert Potato, Resistance Member: Yes, I'm Albert Potato.
I think there's alot of tribal/family alliances, which makes enforcing the law a nightmare since noone is neutral.
The cop in the film is shown to be working class, although their most capable investigator, he is of low rank. And judging from his treatment, not liked very much or respected for solving crimes.
So him investigating an old family/tribe like the bombmaker is difficult but not impossible. It would be impossible if the person came from a connected family/tribe as he would have too many conflict of interests, not to mention they probably wouldn't have merited the case through solving crime but just through connections.
Also there is ALOT of crime against the serf-like foreign national labour force. But since they are foreigners their complaints don't count. So it's good to be saudi there but I doubt anyone is putting their hands up to go work there as a foreigner. That's why they have those gated foreigner communities. And of course I doubt there are many female workers there that aren't cleaners/maids, if your sexually assaulted and report it to the police, they'll arrest you. As happened to an Australian woman recently.
3. Isreal is fighting for survival, the Arabs aren't.Israel has WMDs including nukes, and none of the surrounding countries except Iran give a damn about Israel anymore. No one entertains any illusions that the Israeli regime will ever go away. What people care about now is getting a state for Palestinians and getting the refugees back home.
It has less to do w/ competence and more to do w/ corruption.
~::~::~
The midget I'm dating could be my daughter! ~Denny Crane
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