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02/26/2006:

"Attack Shows al-Qaida Can Still Strike"

MANAMA, Bahrain - Al-Qaida on Saturday vowed more attacks on Saudi oil facilities, a day after an attempt to bomb the world's biggest oil processing complex showed the group still can strike inside the kingdom.

A strike on the Abqaiq complex, near Saudi Arabia's eastern Persian Gulf coast, could have been devastating. Nearly two-thirds of the country's oil flows through the facility for processing before export

....Analysts said it was too early to say if the Abqaiq bombing signaled a new, aggressive campaign. But the choice of oil facilities should increase concerns, they said.

"If the Saudi system goes down, then you will have a real problem, and for oil prices the sky is the limit," Mohamedi said. "You're attacking the absolute heart of the world oil system."

Saudi Arabia holds over 260 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, a quarter of the world's total. It currently puts out about 9.5 million barrels per day, or 11 percent of global consumption.
news.yahoo.com

It's alarming when headlines scream "Al Qaida can still strike." Maybe our fasten seat belt sign should be switched on. Events are converging, and it feels to me like somethin is about to blow, and the groundwork is being laid in stories like this...