Anyone else heard about this?
As I was looking into this, it struck me that the Saudis are trying to build their own Hong Kong. They've positioned this enormous project right at the mouth of the Red Sea, meaning that the ports for this city will service ships heading through the Suez Canal. The planned city is being advertised as "modern" and "progressive," and the Saudis are setting it up as a special economic zone that will have its own legal system-- which is clearly meant to attract foreign investors who are afraid of putting their money into a brutal dictatorship. The road connection to Egypt would be the sole land passageway from the Middle East into Africa, bypassing Israel. The linear plan, though somewhat absurd, would definitely succeed in making high-speed transit faster and more efficient.
Others, however, think that this is an ambitious plan to minimize casualties in the event of a nuclear attack from Iran. The city is being built as far from Iran as possible, and its linear nature and underground levels will serve to spread out and shield the population from an ICBM strike. I thought this was an interesting explanation for this; obviously it's not the only reason behind the project, but it's probably a big one.
What are Atlas' thoughts on this?
