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| Arabia |
| Last American Combat Troops Quit Saudi Arabia |
| 2003-09-22 |
| EFL The last few American combat troops pulled out of the Prince Sultan Air Base here earlier this month, officially closing the Persian Gulf headquarters used by the Air Force during both Iraq wars and concluding a nearly 13-year run of extensive United States military operations in Saudi Arabia. If we return, it’ll be because the Saudis didn’t clean up their act The withdrawal signaled the end of a long strategic arrangement, mutually beneficial until it fell victim to tensions resulting from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, in which 15 of 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. Since then, the countries’ fragile diplomatic relations have undergone considerable strain — only worsened in recent months by the American military presence in the kingdom, American and Saudi officials said here this week. NY Times spin - it’s our fault As one American diplomatic official based in the region put it, "on both sides, actually, the alliance had become a little bit of poison, and both sides were glad to see it end." poisoned by both sides, huh? another State Dept weenie sucking on the Soddy teat Nearly 500 advisers now constitute the only American military presence left in a country that during the 1991 Persian Gulf war had as many as 550,000 American troops at several sites. The advisers are helping to train the Saudi National Guard. The Prince Sultan base, which at the height of the war this spring housed 10,000 American troops and 200 planes, has now been supplanted as the Middle East’s main American military air operations center by Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. protection for Qatar against the Saudi pressure This last phase of the American departure from the base occurred with almost no fanfare, attracting only minor mention in the Saudi press. "It was as if they were never here," a senior Saudi official said. "They left very quietly." The drastically reduced American profile could simplify the government’s position among Saudis who espouse Osama bin Laden’s contention that the American military foothold was an affront to the kingdom’s sovereignty. For years, the American presence not far from Islam’s two holiest sites, at Mecca and Medina, has provided Al Qaeda with an important rallying cry. Partly for this reason, members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family had rarely acknowledged the large number of American troops who used the base as a launching pad for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. About 50 miles southeast of here, the sprawling high-security installation does not appear on most Saudi maps and is marked on a barren desert road by an unassuming Arabic sign. For the Americans, particularly the pilots who flew thousands of missions from the base, assignment to the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing was difficult. Late last month, the expeditionary wing was deactivated. "They came out of here hating the place," the American diplomatic official said. "The missions were often dangerous, and the Saudis set a lot of restrictions on the flights." In part, Pentagon officials say, the shift is a logical outgrowth of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq. Thirteen years after it began, the officials say, the American base’s original Iraqi mission had been accomplished. We have the Iraqi bases now, which can be used without Saudi restrictions, in fact, they are within range of Riyadh, Mecca, Medina.....go figure |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #6 When are we going to get rid of the State weenies and the regime that supports Bin Laden so strongly? The House of Saud needs to go. |
| Posted by: TJ Jackson 2003-9-22 11:30:16 PM |
| #5 Get the damn non-combat Ameircan troops and the American crossing guards, American milkmen and American Video Rental Clerks. Just leave an e-mail address they can reach us at. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-22 4:11:36 PM |
| #4 bah! we just left because none of our planning includes already having bases in Saudi. Cheaper to leave than to have to re-write one of those plans. Cya in the spring! |
| Posted by: flash91 - fatwah you talkin bout willis 2003-9-22 11:56:34 AM |
| #3 The base was about as unobtrusive as possible. I lived in Riyadh for three years and never saw or heard an aircraft. IIRC, the airmen/soldiers were restricted, as the article said, but, really for their own good. Believe me boys, you wouldn't have much to do at the Safeway. In any case, the only American presence is now the typical govt-govt military cooperation programs. Maybe those are the 500 "advisors" mentioned. They may be based at the "ESKAN" facility, about 1/2 way between Riyadh and air base. Even these guys are very discreet, so the American military presence in Riyadh, at least, was never really felt. |
| Posted by: Michael 2003-9-22 11:24:27 AM |
| #2 The drastically reduced American profile could simplify the government’s position among Saudis who espouse Osama bin Laden’s contention that the American military foothold was an affront to the kingdom’s sovereignty. Not likely. This "complaint" is just one of many convenient excuses in bin Laden and his followers' list of reasons to play jihadi. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-9-22 10:20:59 AM |
| #1 Leave the lights on. We'll be back. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2003-9-22 8:52:19 AM |