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U.S., Saudis Heighten Security Defenses after Attacks on Oil Industry

(Wall Street Journal) Benoit Faucon - The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have stepped up efforts to protect the kingdom's oil production, holding talks on connecting Saudi missile defenses to more sophisticated U.S. systems, and investigating new systems to destroy, detect or jam drones or missiles. Saudi Arabia's Patriot missiles are mainly positioned to counter attacks from Yemen and U.S. officials had expressed concerns that the Saudis were leaving the oil facilities vulnerable to strikes. "The location of the Patriots in Saudi Arabia had been a source of significant friction," a person briefed by the administration said. "They protect the palaces, not the oil infrastructure." U.S. officials are also concerned that the Saudis are deferring maintenance and training for their Patriots as they attempt to keep all 24 up and online every day.
2019-10-18 00:00:00
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