19-09-2003 19:06									#1
	Saudi's considering Nuclear option? Increase the size of your Attachments

quote: WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Thursday strongly denied a report in a British newspaper that it was considering acquiring nuclear weapons. "Reports that Saudi Arabia is considering acquiring nuclear weapons are baseless and totally false," the Saudi embassy here said in a statement. The Guardian, a left-wing British daily, reported Thursday that Saudi Arabia has embarked on a strategic review that includes considering whether to acquire nuclear weapons. It said the move came in response to political tensions in the Middle East. The paper reported, without quoting its sources, that a strategy paper being considered "at the highest levels in Riyadh" set out three options: -- To acquire a nuclear capability as a deterrent; -- To maintain or enter into an alliance with an existing nuclear power that would offer protection; -- To try to reach a regional agreement on having a nuclear-free Middle East. It was not known whether Saudi Arabia had taken a decision on any of the three options, the Guardian said. The Saudi embassy here dismissed the report. "Saudi Arabia has long advocated for a Middle East that is free of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and there is no basis to change current policies," the embassy statement said. "Saudi Arabia is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and other UN conventions on weapons of mass destruction and non-proliferation. "Reports that the Kingdom is seeking nuclear, biological or chemical weapons are motivated by malice and have no grounding in the truth," the statement said. Until now, the assumption in Washington was that Saudi Arabia was content to remain under the US nuclear umbrella, according to the paper. But the relationship between the Saudis and the United States had steadily worsened since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington. The Guardian added that the Saudi authorities were unnerved by the possibility of Iran and Israel having nuclear weapons.

http://www.amatechtel.com/news/wed/...ar.RqCq_DSI.asp

I don't put much stock into anything the Guardian says. I'm sure they have some reports that are credible and true, but it's so hard to discern the good stories from the tinfoil hat ones they publish. But could this be a reality? Could the Saudi's be working to aqcuire nuclear weapons?

quote: Saudi Arabia does not have weapons of mass destruction. It did, however, buy long-range CSS-2 ballistic missiles from China in 1988. More recently, Saudi officials have discussed the procurement of new Pakistani intermediate-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads

quote: Concerns about Saudi plans to buy nuclear weapons were raised after Prince Sultan toured Pakistan's secret nuclear facilities in May 1999. The prince toured the Kahuta uranium enrichment plant and an adjacent factory where the Ghauri missile is assembled with Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and was briefed by A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan's atom bomb. The site is so secret that former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said she was not allowed to go to there during her tenure in office.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/saudi/

IMO, the Saudi's are evil ****ers... more evil than Saddam... but they are our "allies".

	19-09-2003 19:08									#2
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Are only western countries allowed to have nukes then? When the US, UK and France have them nobody seems to care, but as soon as they fall into the hands of brown people there's a big fuss made. A bit hypocritical really.

The whole bloody lot of them should be disposed of.

	19-09-2003 19:15									#3
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I don't care about the color of their skin. I care that they are the biggest supporters of Wahabiism on the planet.

	19-09-2003 19:19									#4
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quote: Prince Sultan second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, when asked about nuclear armaments said, "We are a nation working for peace but we reserve the right to defend our country. We work towards procuring the weapons necessary to protect our country and this makes us put these weapons through live tests before we buy them, and we make them a shield to protect the safety of the Holy Shrines and the security of our citizens." September 10, 1999. [Online] http://www.ain-al-yaqeen.com/issues...910/feat4en.htm

http://cns.miis.edu/research/wmdme/saudi.htm
Center for Nonproliferation Studies

	19-09-2003 19:20									#5
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In Strategic terms, if the allience with the US falls apart for the house of Saud, getting nukes would be a very tempting investment in job security.

	19-09-2003 19:23									#6
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quote: Concerns about proliferation: nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles The Saudi inclination to buy security may have included attempts to acquire nuclear weapons, according to a Saudi defector. Mohammed Khilewi, first secretary at the Saudi mission to the United Nations until July 1994, said that the Saudis have sought a bomb since 1975. According to Khilewi, the Saudis sought to buy nuclear reactors from China, supported Pakistan's nuclear program, and contributed $5 billion to Iraq's nuclear weapons program between 1985 and 1990. If true, these actions would violate Saudi commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which Saudi Arabia signed in 1988 to ease concern over their purchase of long-range Chinese ballistic missiles.

http://www.fas.org/asmp/profiles/saudi_arabia.htm

The above report also details US conventional military contributions to Saudi Arabia, which is very disturbing.

	19-09-2003 19:26									#7
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quote: Originally posted by Sava http://www.fas.org/asmp/profiles/saudi_arabia.htm The above report also details US conventional military contributions to Saudi Arabia, which is very disturbing.

Why would that be disturbing? SA is the biggest customer of US weapons, specially big ticket items.

	19-09-2003 20:33									#8
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Gee, I wonder why the might want nukes now, all of a sudden...

	19-09-2003 20:38									#9
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If they get nukes we can blame the IDF for not bombing them in time

	19-09-2003 20:43									#10
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Um... for me, big question is not so much the possible nuke weapons - but the delivery systems.

If the Saudi's invest in a huge ballistic missile program, I can't see anyone being happy about it.

A dozen or so air launched tac nukes - I could see that being a viable deterrent option.

Hundreds of multi-megaton warheads atop ICBMs like the Israeli's have - not the hottest option for stability.

Far too likely Israel would strike first.

	19-09-2003 21:26									#11
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If Saudi Arabia is that interested in getting nukes, I say we give them one, air mail direct.

(kidding, kidding)

	19-09-2003 21:53									#12
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Let the Suadi's have nukes. They're more likely to blow themselves up with it then to use it on anyone else...

	19-09-2003 22:01									#13
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quote: Far too likely Israel would strike first.

They're both loose cannons if both have nukes, especially if the really radical Wahhabis get a hold of them.

	20-09-2003 06:48									#14
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The Caliph? How many divisions has the Caliph got?

* St Leo snorts

	20-09-2003 08:32									#15
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People have to realize the subtle disticntion between funding and being beholden to the fundamentalists. The House of Saud has F-15's, AWAC's, Patriot missiles and M1 Abrahm's tanks.. last time I cheked none of which are in the hands of Wahhabi clerics. The House of Saud is allied to these guys and gives them money, but they keep control, and if the Clerics tried anything, well, expect to see the heads roll.

So the problem with a saudi nukes is not whether it is in te hands of terrorists, but that the more states get nukes, the more states than will want nukes. If Iran and Saudi Arabia had nukes, Then Iraq and Syria and Egypt will just have to get them.

	20-09-2003 17:53									#16
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quote: If they get nukes we can blame the IDF for not bombing them in time

So can we bomb them? Can we? Can we?

BeBro: No. That would be evil, fascist and against international laws. That is, until they develop nukes and then it'll be too late, and then you will be to blame again.

Oh great. We're damned if we do, damned if we don't :rolleues:

quote: Hundreds of multi-megaton warheads atop ICBMs like the Israeli's have - not the hottest option for stability. Far too likely Israel would strike first.

Huh?

What source exactly have you got about Israeli ICBMs or multi-megaton warheads?

From everything I read in foreign sources, the speculations suggest that Israel may have a medium quantity of rather small bombs. If war time comes and we need to use something of this sort, it would be stupid to use a big enough bomb so the pollution would destroy Israel as well....

And while we have a ballistic missile, it is most certainly not an ICBM (inter continental). New Iranian missiles are almost reaching the same areas.

This whole thing is a load of poopy.