Terrorism and reform, two ongoing battles for Saudi government
Terror attacks by suspected Al-Qaeda militants marked Saudi Arabia in 2004 as the arrest of pro-democracy activists cast a shadow over a process of limited reforms due to lead to landmark male-only municipal elections.The storming of the United States consulate in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on December 6 climaxed the string of terror strikes, which began in May 2003 and have often targeted foreigners, leaving more than 100 people dead and hundreds more wounded. As the year drew to a close, London-based Saudi Islamist dissidents threw down another challenge by calling for anti-government demonstrations in Riyadh and Jeddah in defiance of a strict ban on street protests in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.Full Story