Saudis ‘eye Pakistani nukes’ to face Iran

Subject: Saudis ‘eye Pakistani nukes’ to face Iran Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:55 am

Saudi Arabia has been beefing up its military links with Pakistan to counter Iran’s expansionist plans and this reportedly includes acquiring atomic arms from the only Muslim nuclear power or its pledge of nuclear cover.

Pakistan has become a front-line state for Sunni Islam and is being positioned by its leaders, particularly in the powerful military and intelligence establishments, as a bulwark against Shiite Iran and its proxies.

Increasingly, Pakistan is rushing to the defense of Saudi Arabia, with whom it has a long had discreet security links. It is reported to have put two army divisions on standby for deployment to Saudi Arabia if the kingdom is threatened by Iran or the pro-democracy uprisings sweeping the Arab world.

It is even reported to be prepared to provide Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons if threatened by Iran. In return, it has been promised Saudi Arabian oil and treasure.

The Saudis have portrayed the roiling rivalry with the Iranians as a new, menacing chapter of the 1,300-year-old struggle between Sunni and Shiite Islam.

“The stakes are enormous,” says Bruce Riedel, a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist.

“Pakistan has the fastest growing nuclear arsenal in the world. It will soon surpass the United Kingdom as the fifth-largest nuclear arsenal. It is the sixth-largest country in the world in terms of population,” Riedel wrote in the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel.

“It will soon surpass Indonesia as the country with the largest Muslim population.”

http://stratrisks.com/geostrat/1523

Saudis ‘eye Pakistani nukes’ to face Iran

Saudis ‘eye Pakistani nukes’ to face Iran

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