THE WISDOM FUND: News & Views
September 18, 2003
The Guardian (UK)

Saudis Consider Nuclear Bomb

by Ewen MacAskill and Ian Traynor

Saudi Arabia, in response to the current upheaval in the Middle East, has embarked on a strategic review that includes acquiring nuclear weapons, the Guardian has learned. . . .

A strategy paper being considered at the highest levels in Riyadh sets 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.

. . . Saudi worries about an Iranian programme and to the absence of any international pressure on Israel, which has an estimated 200 nuclear devices.

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