Saudis Acquire Nuclear Capacity?

German intelligence sources claim that Saudi Arabia is building its own nuclear capacity and has constructed a covert "underground city" similar to Dimona in Israel south of Riyadh to house Pakistani Ghauri missiles and perhaps eventually nuclear missiles.

The article quotes an American expert named John Pike who asserts that the Saudis helped pay for the original Paki nuclear weapon's development and construction, and that nuclear Johnny Appleseed Abdul Qadeer Khan's work goes on in the Kingdom.

These stories surface from time to time about Saudi Arabia, but the rumor of Saudi nuclear scientists working in Pakistan stretches the imagination. What is more credible is the eventual transportation of nuclear weapons from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, a country which regards Iran as a traditional rival and enemy.

The Saudis bought medium-range ballistics missiles from the Chinese in the 1980's and hid the missiles and their acquisition from American intelligence until US satellite surveillance discovered them. The US sent in its Ambassador to protest, and the US envoy, Hume Horan, was practically PNGed out of the Kingdom. The US subsequently discovered to its own embarrassment that the missiles that the Chinese sold the Saudis was equipped with US gyroscopes and aeronautics illegally sold to the Chinese by the Israelis, who unlike the Saudis were never admonished for breaking security agreements with the USA.

Given the Americans' sorry intelligence track record with its own equipment sold by "allies" to potential enemies, can we be surprised if German and other foreign intelligence agencies again are correct while the CIA and DIA are still in the dark?

If past is precedence, the Saudis may well acquire a nuclear capacity before the US ever finds out about it.