• Keeping up with scientific trends to transform the Saudi society into an information-based society and keep the Kingdom at par with technologically and scientifically advanced nations
The technical proposal had eight integrated elements: mobilizing the project team; establishing a support center under the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST); conducting a field survey to inventory government agency hardware and software; providing software; technical and advisory support; training; supporting educational institutions; and creating a scientific research program. A series of committees were formed to implement the proposal but unfortunately, the project became too complex to be completed.
I remember that Gates would visit the Kingdom years later, and King Abdullah, who received Gates at his farm in Janadriyah, had asked him: “Mr Gates, what did you do to get where you are now?”
Without hesitation, Gates answered: “Two t hings: first, I took something big and made it small and available. Second, I took something expensive and worked on making it affordable and more accessible to everyone.” The Men of the National Guard My time at the National Guard not only helped me improve myself, it also gave me the chance to get to know men I came to cherish as both friends and colleagues, who had remarkable morals, personalities, and faith in their religion, king, and nation. One of these men was Major General Mutaib bin Tafour, who I was very close to, learned a great deal from, and represented to me the paradigmatic National Guard servicemember, in both his physical appearance and his temperament. [20] Mutaib sta rted his journey with the National Guard as a ‘wandering rabbit’ . He first applied to join when he was 17 years old and subsequently got rejected as he was illiterate at the time. Upon rejection, he went straight to the commander of the National Guard, King Abdullah himself who was at the time the Crown Prince, blocked his path, and said: “Sir, I am now like a wandering rabbit. Every time I open a door, they slam it back on my face.” He pleaded with the Crown Prince to admit him. “Sir, I want to learn and e arn an income so I can provide for my mother. The National Guard will help me fulfill my dreams and empower me.” Mutaib confided in me that, for years, he would sit in a tent every day, teaching himself to read and write by lamplight, using his mother’s eyeliner as a writing tool. He would go on to finish his studies and join the military college, and later, be assigned to a garrison in the USA. This is how a man is made – by giving him confidence and the tools to improve himself, as well as the opportunity to serve his country through his career. This was the foundation upon which the National Guard and its Western Sector, particularly the training center, as well as the special forces and riot control units in Taif, were built. I was moved when King Abdullah presented Mutaib with a medal of honor during th e training center’s inauguration ceremony. The major general had been forced into retirement by a stroke that put him in a wheelchair. The K ing had reminded Mutaib of the old days and his ‘wandering rabbit’ story – a man whose dedication, perseverance and honor encapsulates the values of the National Guard and its founder, King Abdullah.
Protecting the Kingdom
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