Playing with fire...Saudis are considering atomic arms

[SoCalDem]

http://wn.com/link/nph-link.cgi?worldphotos/indexsearchvera.txt&24602012&http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edailystar%2Ecom%2Elb%2Fopinion%2F29%5F11%5F03%5Fe%2Easp

Playing with fire: deepening suspicions that Saudis are considering atomic arms

BEIRUT: Western military analysts have long believed that Saudi Arabia was the Arab power most likely to take up the nuclear weapons option and in recent days there has been mounting speculation that Riyadh is moving in that direction. That is a development that would have the most profound impact on the highly volatile Middle East-South Asia region at a time when the Americans are extending their military power. Nuclear proliferation by the Saudis and others and the “war on terrorism” is a dangerous mix.

That scenario has been given considerable weight by the hardening evidence that Iran has had a clandestine nuclear arms program for some years and that Israel’s newly acquired German-built submarines are being equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, greatly extending Israel’s nuclear reach. Israel claims Libya is seeking nuclear know-how.

But possibly the most defining element has been the sharp deterioration in Riyadh’s relationship with the United States since Sept. 11, 2001. Saudi Arabia’s ruling elite understands that it can no longer place any reliance on US protection, even in the face of Iranian intimidation.

Riyadh denies it is mulling a nuclear option, but questions remain. On Oct. 8, the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, published in London, added to the conundrum with a report headlined: “Yes, we are afraid of Iranian uranium.” The article said: “It would be a mistake to defend our neighbor Iran because of its ignorance and because of the excuse that its actions are meant to deter Israel.


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[evil_orange_cat]

1. I'm surprised Bush hasn't given them nukes already...

I mean, Bush's hero Ronny reagan and his daddy gave Saddam most of his WMD capabilities... since Bush and the Saudi's are so close, it really does surprise me that they already don't have nukes stamped MADE IN USA...

[Old and In the Way]

2. So where is this administration making their case for pre-emption

at the UN? Wasn't 15 of 19 hijackers Saudi? Isn't SA the home of Al-Qaeda? Why is Jim Baker defending Saudi Arabia from a Billion dollar lawsuit brought by the families of victims of 9/11?

I think the War in Iraq was planned to deflect attention from the root cause of terror. Remember when George made overtures of draining the financial swamps of Al-Qaeda? Did someone, like GHWB, take him aside and tell him, "Son, we have a little problem with fingering Suadi Arabia"? Not only do I think that this administration is hiding much on what they knew prior to the attack, but I think they are also being compromised on their actions relative to dealing with SA.

[scottcsmith]

3. It comes as no surprise

Our government is so greedy that it looks the other way when it comes to dealing with a government that is one of the most oppressive governments in the region. The Kingdom has a horrible record on human rights. Add to that the fact that at one time, the Kingdon was making donations to a charity that was actually a front to funnel the money to terrorist groups. Why are they our good friends? Virtually all of the 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. How many were from Iraq? None!

Here's links to the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International annual reports on human rights issues in Saudi Arabia:

http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/mideast6.html
http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/Sau-summary-eng

But hey, we'll just ignore all of those pesky human rights violations because we're getting lots o' cash from the Kingdom.