"Saudis ready to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan"

In Time magazine, Fareed Zakaria wrote one of the dumbest columns I've ever read. He argues that the US shouldn't care if the Saudis are upset at Washington's incompetent Middle East policy, because Saudis have a terrible human rights record and are largely  responsible for Wahhabi terrorism.

I was thinking of writing about it, but the BBC found a much better response.

The Saudis, alarmed that President Obama will not stop an Iranian nuke, are reportedly working on getting their own:

Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight.

While the kingdom's quest has often been set in the context of countering Iran's atomic programme, it is now possible that the Saudis might be able to deploy such devices more quickly than the Islamic republic.

Earlier this year, a senior Nato decision maker told me that he had seen intelligence reporting that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery.

Last month Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, "the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring."

Since 2009, when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia warned visiting US special envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross that if Iran crossed the threshold, "we will get nuclear weapons", the kingdom has sent the Americans numerous signals of its intentions.

Notice that Saudi Arabia never felt threatened by Israeli nuclear weapons, but the prospect of Iran with nukes is enough to start a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East.

There are many other ways that Iranian nuclear weapons would change the world for the worse, but this one is immediate - and it was quite predictable. The BBC article notes the evidence that Saudi Arabia would acquire nukes if Iran develops them have been around for over a decade.

But the Saudis have a horrendous human rights record, so to Fareed Zakaria, who cares what they do?