Art Economics Low Politics Decline Political Theology Power Geopolitics

The Line

The Great Wall of Arabia

“The Line” megaproject was brought to my attention again recently:

There has been a lot of commentary around “The Line” that goes like: “It’s dystopia city! The Great Reset!” Well, maybe it is that, too, but I think it’s quite obviously something else—assuming it doesn’t even up just being another failed megaproject, of which there are many. Take one look at where The Line is on a map and you can clearly see that this is not a city, but a fortification:

“The Line” will be the largest human shield ever created. It's obviously designed so that it would force an invading army to cause the maximum number of civilian casualties possible in order to get past it.

It also cannot be destroyed by a single nuclear weapon. Even the design itself is defensive. A 500 meter tall mirror in the middle of the desert. Have fun approaching that. Nothing about this structure will “protect and enhance nature,” but it will protect Saudi Arabia.

The extremely slim design will make it a more difficult target to bomb. At only 200 meters in width, it would require precision bombs to accurately hit. Even if you did, critical components will be topped by hundreds of meters of concrete, steel, and humans. The “node” design of The Line also means that it’s not possible to disable anything but a small segment of The Line with a single attack. If any point in The Line needs reinforcing, the high speed rail that will allow the entire city to be traversed end-to-end in a mere 20 minutes will help facilitate defense. And, of course, the western end of The Line will have access to the sea.

It might look like the south side of some of The Line is right up against the sea, but it actually isn’t. There’s plenty of space behind it to stage defense forces to protect its sea access, or cut off Israel’s sea access, and there’s plenty of room to expand the line east if the city expands.

Saudi Arabia’s western coast will be protected by The Line from the north, and by mountains to the east. The city of Tabuk anchors the line in the east, defending the upper valley route into Saudi Arabia. These aren’t just terrain features—the main highways into Saudi Arabia are on the coast and in that valley. The Line might look tiny compared to the full length of Saudi Arabia, but it adds a major obstacle to any armies invading from the northwest, which is the only conceivable place that an invasion could take place in the near future.

Why would the Saudi government spend so much money on such an extravagant project if it just wanted a wall? Well, because they can get other people to pay for it. Outside investors will invest in this project because it is intended to attract them. It will be an asset to the Saudi economy in addition to a fortification.

Neom launches the Line

The idiots who think this project is “wow so epic” and that it is for the benefit of humans and/or nature, and the reactionaries who think it’s just part of a “Great Reset” and both falling for the propaganda. I’m sure that out of all of the things that Saudi government could have invested in, it’s just a coincidence that they settled on a project that serves a giant fortification on the scale of the Great Wall of China, right next to Saudi Arabia’s enemies in being or in potentiality.