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| Arabia |
| Saudi National Guard chief to Seek More U.S. Backing |
| 2014-11-18 |
| [AnNahar] A top Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... n official who begins a visit to the United States on Tuesday will seek to strengthen support for the kingdom's powerful National Guard forces, official media said. The Guard is a parallel army of around 200,000 men whose duties include combating "terrorism". Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the National Guard minister, will hold talks with President Barack Obama teachable moment... and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during the visit which will last several days, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Prince Miteb, the son of King Abdullah, will also meet top U.S. officer the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey. The visit comes with Saudi Arabia participating in U.S.-led coalition air strikes targeting gunnies of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... group in Syria, which has raised concerns about possible retaliation in the kingdom. Prince Miteb will discuss "joint cooperation between the two countries, especially the development of Saudi National Guard forces systems in the field of armament and training", SPA said. The Saudi National Guard is formed from tribes which have traditionally backed the rule of the Saud dynasty since it spread its rule in the Arabian Peninsula. It is a trained army of infantry, mechanized and special units, as well as military police. The Guard operates in parallel, and as a palace-directed counterbalance, to the Saudi ground forces. King Abdullah upgraded the National Guard to a ministry in 2013 and assigned his Sandhurst-educated son to lead it. In March this year, a source said the king wants to prepare Miteb to be the next in line of succession after Deputy Crown Prince Moqren bin Abdul Aziz. A U.S. defense contractor, Vinnell Arabia, has a long-standing training program for the National Guard. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 ...Interesting point here that may not be immediately apparent: the Saudi NG ain't like ours here - they are, for all practical purposes, the bodyguard for the al-Sauds. They are a pretty solid, capable, and motivated light cav force in their own right, and they fought very well in ODS. But their primary job is to look out for the al-Saud family, and they don't forget it. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2014-11-18 05:54 |