Vinnell Corp., Targeted in Riyadh Before, Loses 9 More Workers
WASHINGTON — Of the seven military and police forces in Saudi Arabia, perhaps none is more important than the National Guard. It has one overarching assignment: protecting the royal, ruling House of Saud.
Of the hundreds of U.S. firms operating in Saudi Arabia, perhaps none is more important to the royal family than the Vinnell Corp. The Fairfax, Va., unit of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. trains the National Guard.
That Vinnell, active in the desert kingdom for more than a quarter-century, was among the entities targeted in the three coordinated explosions in Riyadh on Monday night surprised few Americans with detailed knowledge of U.S. companies' operations there. Indeed, Vinnell had been struck before: On Nov. 13, 1995, a car bomb destroyed a building in the Saudi capital that housed a Vinnell-linked military training program. Seven people -- five Americans and two Indians -- died.
But beyond historical military ties, Vinnell operates deep in the back-channel world that characterizes the U.S.-Saudi relationship, experts say.
"They're definitely one of the top hooked-in companies in the United States" providing services in Saudi Arabia, said Deborah Avant, a professor of political science at George Washington University who recently completed a book on private security forces overseas.
The company said Tuesday that at least nine of its employees were killed in this week's attack; seven were from the United States and two from the Philippines. Of the 70 or so Vinnell workers who lived in the building most heavily damaged, 50 were away on a training exercise, the company said.
Vinnell has about 800 employees in Riyadh, 300 of whom are American. Most of the Americans are retired military personnel, lured by the promise they can continue the work they did in the military.
Beyond Vinnell, the attack spread a wave of anxiety throughout U.S. companies in Saudi Arabia, which try to keep a low profile while coming up against the cultural divide that sets the West apart from traditional Islamic society.
To shake up the economic establishment in Saudi Arabia, the oil industry is a likely target that may yet be hit. But, said Andrew Hess, a professor of diplomacy at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Vinnell is the logical target of forces seeking to send a political message.
