Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0308/03081.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 25KB | 395 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03081}
$Pretitle{251}
$Title{Saudi Arabia
Chapter 5A.   National Security}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Eugene K. Keefe}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{al
abd
aziz
saudi
forces
saud
military
war
faisal
king}
$Date{1984}
$Log{Beduin Warrior*0308101.scf
}
Country:     Saudi Arabia
Book:        Saudi Arabia, A Country Study
Author:      Eugene K. Keefe
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Chapter 5A.   National Security

[See Beduin Warrior: Artist's Rendition]

     During its infancy in the 1930s the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia needed little
as far as national security was concerned-protection of the king and the royal
family, protection of the holy places, and nominal defense of its territory,
much of which needed no other defense than that provided by its natural
desolation. Fifty years later, however, the kingdom was in the limelight on
the world stage. As producer and largest exporter of oil to much of the
industrialized world and owner of about one-quarter of the known reserves,
this land of the House of Saud had assumed a significant role in international
politics. Its national security had become a major concern not only to the
king and the royal family but also to those industrialized countries that
depend on Saudi oil to make the wheels turn. The well-being of the economies
of the United States, many of the countries of Western Europe, and Japan
depended to a large extent on the flow of Saudi oil.

     King Abd al Aziz bin Abd ar Rahman Al Saud, restorer of the House of Saud
and founder of the kingdom in 1932, had many sons, four of whom (all born of
different mothers) have succeeded him to the throne: Saud, 1953-64; Faisal,
1964-75; Khalid, 1975-82; and Fahd, whose reign continued in early 1984. King
Fahd bin Abd al Aziz Al Saud (as he is formally known) had been crown prince
and deputy prime minister under King Khalid and was frequently in charge,
acting for Khalid during several illnesses. Fahd, therefore, was no stranger
to royal power or to the international politics of the "oil kingdom" when he
succeeded his half brother in June 1982. During his first two years as king,
Fahd demonstrated his awareness of the security of the kingdom and of the
forces responsible for that security, which he heads as commander in chief.

     The defense and security organizations initiated under Abd al Aziz, and
particularly promoted by Faisal, have grown and developed into the armed
forces, and paramilitary forces, and police and security forces that defend
and protect the kingdom. In early 1984 the king was at the apex of the
security system, which was essentially divided into three segments, headed by
princess of the royal family-all sons of Abd al Aziz. The regular armed
forces-army, navy, and air force-were under the Ministry of Defense and
Aviation, headed by Prince Sultan. The police, coastal, and border security
forces were under the Ministry of Interior, headed by Prince Nayif. The Saudi
Arabian National Guard, a paramilitary organization charged with internal
security, was headed by Prince Abdallah, who was also crown prince and deputy
prime minister. Sultan was second deputy prime minister.

     To defend the country against attack by external enemies was the task
assigned to the regular armed forces; the National Guard would have a
reinforcing mission in the event of an invasion. Strengths in early 1984 were
estimated at 40,000 to 50,000 for the regular forces and 25,000 to 40,000 for
the National Guard. The London-based International Institute for Strategic
Studies reported the following: army, 35,000; navy, 2,500; air force, 14,000;
and National Guard, 25,000. Some other observers held the army at 45,000 and
the Guard at 35,000 to 40,000. Estimating the strength of the Guard was
particularly difficult because part of it was an active-duty force and part
was militia; about 15,000 guardsmen on active duty was accepted as a
reasonable figure. Strengths of the Ministry of Interior forces-Public
Security Police, Special Force, Coast Guard, and Frontier Forces-were even
more difficult to estimate.

     Because of its spectacular accumulation of wealth, particularly since the
price of oil was quadrupled in the aftermath of the October 1973 War and then
raised substantially again in the late 1970s, Saudi Arabia has had tremendous
amounts of money to spend on modernization, including the upgrading of its
military forces. Literally tens of billions of dollars were spent on the armed
forces in the 1973-83 period, much of it on infrastructure and training but
also a substantial amount on weaponry. Despite the huge defense expenditures,
some analysts concurred in the opinion that the Saudi armed forces would have
difficulty repelling an invasion by an enemy force that was larger in numbers
and had more aircraft, tanks, artillery, and other weapons than the Saudis.
The territory to be defended is as large as the United States east of the
Mississippi River, and the Saudi armed forces have been deployed in areas of
strategic significance that are widely separated from each other. There is no
railroad system to speak of, and bringing the widespread Saudi forces together
to repel an invader would be tremendously time-consuming. It was also
considered unlikely that the Saudi armed forces would be increased
significantly in strength in the near future.

     The army is the senior service and is largest in numbers as well as most
influential in the military hierarchy and the government. One of the two
assistant ministers of defense and aviation and the chief of staff of the
armed forces invariably have been army generals. The military assistant
minister is the principal adviser to the king and the government on military
affairs; the other deals with civil aviation. The air force is second in
seniority among the three services but has gained in importance as its
aircraft and missilery have been updated to make it the first line of defense
against hostile aircraft. The navy was still a small coastal force in early
1984, but with the construction of two major naval bases and the scheduled
delivery of four missile-carrying frigates in the mid-1980s, the junior
service will also gain stature in the overall Saudi defense picture. A problem
shared by the three services, as well as by the civilian economy, is the
constant and growing need for trained technicians to operate and maintain the
technologically advanced equipment and weapons that have already been
delivered to the Saudi armed forces.

     The United States and Saudi Arabia have maintained a special military
relationship since the late 1940s. At first the United States provided
assistance in the form of weapons and equipment and of advisers to assist in
the organization and training of the Saudi forces. Later, when oil revenues
increased, the Saudis purchased the necessary weapons and equipment and paid
for the services of military and civilian advisers and trainers, as well as
for the services of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which has acted
as contracting agent for the Saudi government in the modernization of its
forces. The Saudis have also purchased weapons and equipment from several
other countries, and British and French training missions have been in the
kingdom for many years. Because Saudi officials have been sensitive to reports
of Western military personnel stationed in the country, the numbers have been
kept relatively low by American, British, and French authorities, but large
numbers of civilians-contracted to corporations-have worked in the kingdom,
training Saudi personnel and maintaining all manner of weapons and equipment.
Although the number of trained Saudis continued to grow, so too did the need
for more, indicating that self-sufficiency in technically trained personnel
was still well into the future.

     The legal system of the kingdom is based on Islamic religious law, that
is, sharia. Since the House of Saud emerged into prominence in the eighteenth
century, it has been assoc