I was also confused by Al Qaeda's recent terrorist action in Saudi Arabia. Through this action, they were biting the hand that feeds them. Of course, these guys are crazed with blind hatred and religious fanaticism so it's possible this recent action was planned. However I suspect this action was a foul up. A couple days ago, the Saudi's cornered some Al Qaeda terrorists in Mekka. The terrorists committed suicide rather than face capture. Also the Saudi's indicated that some large quantities of explosive material had made its way into Saudi Arabia. This discovery was one of the reasons why the foreign communities in Saudi Arabia were laying low and the American embassy had closed. I suspect the terrorists behind this recent bombing knew their cell had been compromised and were on the verge of capture. It's also possible the leaders of their cell were the people who suicided in Mekka. If so, it may have been lower level people (not Al Qadea inner circle) who simply picked a target at random and then made a mess of it.

Gary