Petro-Terrorism

Jihad: While we're glad the Saudis managed to foil another attack on their oil facilities, it was the third time since 9/11 that al-Qaida has tried. It won't be the last.

Perhaps the most devastating attack Osama bin Laden could deliver on America wouldn't be in America. It would be in Saudi Arabia, on its oil supply. Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter, and Osama has called for attacks on its refineries and pipelines expressly to cripple our economy.

Though details are sketchy, the Saudis say they broke up a terror plot to attack oil installations, arresting more than 170 suspects. Police seized weapons and millions in cash from seven armed cells.

Al-Qaida already tried to attack the giant Abqaiq refinery last year. It processes crude shipped to the U.S. and elsewhere. The terror group also attacked a refinery co-owned by a state-run Saudi company and ExxonMobil in 2004.

It's clear that oil is a primary al-Qaida target. The impact on our economy from a successful attack could be devastating, especially if terrorists knocked out the Abqaiq refinery, the most vulnerable choke point in the entire Saudi network.

Moderate to severe damage would slow output the first two months from an average 7 million barrels a day to a trickle of 1 million ? a loss equal to a third of our daily consumption, reckons Robert Baer, ex-CIA case officer who was stationed in the Mideast.

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