Saudi nuclear weapons 'on order' from Pakistan

[cali]

Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight.

While the kingdom's quest has often been set in the context of countering Iran's atomic programme, it is now possible that the Saudis might be able to deploy such devices more quickly than the Islamic republic.

Earlier this year, a senior Nato decision maker told me that he had seen intelligence reporting that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery.

Last month Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, "the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring."

<snip>

The story of Saudi Arabia's project - including the acquisition of missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over long ranges - goes back decades.

<snip>

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24823846

[Lurks Often]

1. Iran makes Saudi Arabia nervous

and the perception, true or not, of the United States possibly not supporting Saudi Arabia and the other, smaller Gulf nations against Iran, is leading them to exploring other options, including Russia and China.


Something I read some years ago, was that European governments did not like our form of government, they felt that the possibility of the Presidency changing hands every 4 years made us "unpredictable". They felt, regardless of party, that such changes could lead to major shifts in our foreign policy.

[FarCenter]

2. There already is an "Islamic nuclear bomb" in Pakistan

Pakistan was founded by Muslim radicals that broke away from India.

[cali]

4. uh, yeah. but what am I missing in the article?

Where does the article refer to an "Islamic nuclear bomb"? It also refers to Pakistan as the Islamic Republic- and it's clearly referring to Pakistan.

Your comment seems like it's addressing some error in the article that isn't there.

Odd.

[stevenleser]

3. So, there is good news and there is bad news.

The bad news is, it looks like there is a strong chance nuclear weapons will now proliferate throughout the entire middle east.

The macabre humor version of the good news is, this will sort things out permanently one way or another over there.

[Mosby]

5. The "NATO model" of deployment

That's a scary thought.

Pakistan could lease out a nuclear weapon system to Egypt as well, the Egyptians have indicated that they want a nuke also if Iran gets one.

[bemildred]

6. "Gee, who could have predicted this?"