Word: kingdoms
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Indeed, the Saudis find themselves staring at a double-barreled gun. While their policies caused the drop in oil prices from $28 per bbl. to $10 per bbl. over the past six months, that decline has cut deeply into the kingdom's revenues. Compounding its woes has been the continued collapse of a building boom that transformed the desert nation (pop. 6 million) into a land of superhighways, high-rise offices and shopping malls. At the same time, recent successes of Iran in its war against Iraq (see following story) have made the security-conscious Saudis extremely nervous. By invading...
...frightened are the Saudis of foreign intrusion that they have embarked on a substantial military buildup. Growing concerns about the safety of its oil fields have led the kingdom to boost defense outlays every year since the Iran-Iraq war started in 1980. Allocations for defense and internal security are now Riyadh's largest single expenditure. They totaled $17.7 billion last year and represented nearly a third of all government spending...
...government has found many ways to spend money. To ensure ample supplies < of grain, Riyadh has paid growers six times the world price for their output. But since the kingdom consumes only about half the nearly 2 million tons that farmers produce annually, Saudi Arabia has a grain glut. Efforts to raise livestock have been troubled. The Saudi Arabian Agriculture and Dairy Co., which opened in 1980, managed to breed 15,000 cows over the following five years. But the $100 million total cost was so great that the firm had to refinance its debts...
...Saudis' proposed purchase of U.S. missiles is the latest in a long line of controversial American deals. The kingdom bought 60 F-15 jets in 1978. When the Reagan Administration took office in 1981, it overrode strong congressional opposition and approved the purchase of five surveillance aircraft equipped with Airborne Warning and Control Systems. The first of them is scheduled to arrive this June. Congress blocked an order for an additional 48 F-15s last year, forcing the Saudis to turn to British and European jets. Now Riyadh views its missile request as a litmus test of American support...
...enhance its security on the ground, the kingdom has fashioned a force called Peninsular Shield with its five partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Together with Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia has assembled a 5,000-man force stationed in King Khalid Military City near the border with Kuwait. Built in typically opulent Saudi style, the complex can hold 70,000 troops. But its ability to withstand attack is questionable at best. Says one military analyst: "If the Iranians were not distracted by Iraq, the odds would be heavily in Iran's favor...