National Security in Saudi Arabia

Anthony H. Cordesman is Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a military analyst for ABC News. A frequent commentator on National Public Radio, he is the author of numerous books on security issues and has served in a number of senior positions in the US government.Nawaf Obaid is a Saudi National Security and Intelligence consultant based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He is currently the Director of the Saudi National Security Assessment Project. He is a former senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP).

• IntroductionThe New Balance of Threats in the Gulf RegionAsymmetric Threats and Islamist ExtremistsExternal Strategic PressuresThe Saudi Security ApparatusSaudi Military ForcesThe Saudi Paramilitary and Internal Security ApparatusSaudi Energy SecurityMilitary ReformInternal Security ReformThe Broader Priorities for Security ReformThe Authors

General interest in Saudi national security has become more apparent following al Qaeda attacks in the kingdom in May 2000. Events since then have brought Saudi security even more into the discussion of the war on terror, making this volume timely. The authors cite several factors for Saudi concerns regarding external threats. For one, Iraq became unstable after the American invasion, and this was accompanied by the collapse of its military. Yemen, a neighboring state, shows signs of instability as well. Should it become radicalized, it could change the situation dramatically. The most attention is paid to the Iranian military strength and its modernization program, which is covered in great detail. Also treated extensively is the issue of energy security, dealing with Saudi Arabia's precious oil reserves. The collection of comparative military data for the entire Persian Gulf region, enhanced further by graphs and tables, gathered because of serious access to sensitive Saudi national authorities, makes this work an essential reference item for any serious military analysis of the area. Essential for any library with a military or Middle East collection. Upper-division undergraduate and above.