In an MSNBC interview with Dr. Walid Phares early Saturday, there was mention of intelligence that the threat to the Saudi offshore facility may have included the use of a submarine. Dr. Phares posited that such equipment may, if in fact accurate, be provided by Iran for such an attack.The article goes on to talk more about the supposed MILF submarine deal. (Off topic -- do those Filipino terrorists know how amusing their acronym is when written in English, as the article does several times?) This important thing to realize is that if Al Qaeda does have a submarine, they'd need Iranian assistance in getting it into position, and as much as many of us wouldn't put anything past the Revolutionary Guard jihadis, I personally think that the Iranian leadership isn't suicidal enough to authorize anything that would have their fingerprints on it so clearly. I think we can safely discount the threat of Al Qaeda submarines to Saudi oil terminals.
At first glance, the use of a submarine in such an attack seems a remote possibility. Yet, in contemplating possible attack tactics and equipment and the MSNBC mention of submarines, it brings to mind the attempts in the late 1990’s of a Philippine terrorist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, to purchase a mini-submarine from North Korea. The equipment was never delivered, but that was not due to any North Korean reluctance to sell arms – including the mini-submarine - to terrorist organizations
A Sub Story Almost Too Stupid To Mention
I hesitate to even mention this, but some website called ThreatsWatch.org has a story up about how Al Qaeda submarines might attack Saudi oil terminals (discussion of a possible attack on those was in the news last week). Here's part of what the ThreatsWatch article says:
