Japan could face overseas lawsuits from nuclear crisis

Two factors make Saudi Arabia inherently vulnerable to regional threats. First, Saudi Arabia has natural resource endowments that expose it to foreign attack. The Kingdom encompasses a vast territory of approximately two million square kilometers, making the country about 1/5th the size of the United States. Riyadh, the capital, is located in the center of Saudi Arabia, but its other major cities and economic assets are located on borders where they are more exposed to attack, mainly along bodies of water such as the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.[16] For example, many Saudi oil fields and water desalination plants are located along the Gulf coast.[17] Second, Saudi Arabia possesses twenty percent of proven global oil reserves and produces more oil than any other member of the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC).[18] These large oil deposits make Saudi Arabia a crucial participant in the international energy market. Bahgat argues that these two geo-strategic characteristics make Saudi Arabia inherently vulnerable to threats made by stronger neighbors.[19]

Saudi Arabia’s location in the Middle East is also mentioned as a potential motivator for it to acquire nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia is relatively weak militarily, but is situated near several strong, potential adversaries, primarily Iran and Israel. Although Saudi Arabia does not currently face any existential threats to its survival, Saudis fear encirclement by these regional adversaries. According to Richard Russell of the Naval Postgraduate School, Saudis have been particularly worried about foreign invasion since Iraq’s incursion onto Kuwait territory in 1990.[20] Saudi Arabia has purchased more advanced, mobile conventional weaponry to mitigate its conventional inadequacies. Yet, despite these upgrades, Saudi Arabia’s conventional military is still at a relative disadvantage compared to other countries in the region due to the small population of the Saudi Kingdom.[21] These fears were heightened after the major regional rivals of Saudi Arabia – namely Israel in the late 1950s and Iran more recently – begun to develop weapons of mass destruction.[22]

http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_40a.html