While the US consulate in Jiddah picks up the pieces, the Saudis try to too, through a PR campaign featuring the disapproving parents of jihadists. Islamic law stipulates that a would-be jihadist should obtain his parents’ permission. From AP, with thanks to Nicolei:
The fathers of five militants told their stories in an emotional program called A Pause with the Parents, which was shown on state television as part of the Saudi royal family’s campaign against militants who have carried out several attacks against Westerners inside the kingdom and abroad.
“I contacted the authorities immediately when I knew he was wanted,” Ahmed Jamaan al-Zahrani said of his son Faris, No. 12 on the list of Saudi Arabia’s 26 most wanted terrorist suspects before he was captured in August. “He has a wife and children whom he should have been taking care of better than staying in Afghanistan.”…
The program played on Islam’s high regard for honouring parents – stressing that disobeying them is almost equated with apostasy.