petroleum scorched earth

I've been following global guerillas for the last few months. They've been doing yeomans work tracking the growing awareness by all players that energy infrastructure is indefensible.

But that isn't where it stops. This isn't just a game for guerrillas and hardscrabble freedom fighters. Excepting the example of the hapless and narcissistic Saddam Hussien, no one should ever be able to take over the infrastructure of a sovereign state.

I'm sure Hugo Chavez is perking up his ears over this story.

via the Oil Drum, (Saudi Oil Rigged For Destruction)
According to a new book exclusively obtained by the Huffington Post, Saudi Arabia has crafted a plan to protect itself from a possible invasion or internal attack. It includes the use of a series of explosives, including radioactive “dirty bombs,” that would cripple Saudi Arabian oil production and distribution systems for decades.

I imagine some might find this story fantastical, Gerald Posner being a bit of a salacious tabloid type. But it really makes good, fundamental sense for the Saudis to do this.

"The people who can destroy a thing, they control it." - Paul Muad'Dib