Word: saudi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
TIME.com: The U.S. has announced it will pull most of its troops out of Saudi Arabia, and has already begun redeploying. Have the Saudis asked for the troop withdrawal, or does it reflect a downgrading of Saudi Arabia's significance as a U.S. ally in the region...
...Scott MacLeod: My sources are telling me that the decision was reached by mutual consent, and on a friendly basis - Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's meetings in Saudi Arabia over the past couple of days have been cordial and friendly, with good vibes reported on both sides. The reason for the withdrawal, my sources are saying, is that there had been a desire for a long time to make the U.S. military presence in Saudi "over the horizon" rather than immediately visible. It'll be there if the Saudis need it, but it won't be there permanently...
...Operation Iraqi Freedom had brought an additional 20-25,000 U.S. troops into Saudi over the past few months, and those are obviously no longer needed. Also, the changed landscape of the region means that a facility of the scale of Prince Sultan airbase, from which it was possible to direct thousands of simultaneous air operations, is no longer required. The duplicate facility built in Qatar for the current conflict, which is more state-of-the-art and also more portable, is more than adequate for the new situation...
...Saudi Arabia is not taking any chances...
...diplomatic sources now reveal that at the regional meeting of foreign ministers in Riyadh last week, Saudi Arabia played a critical role in ensuring the joint statement avoided a confrontational stance toward Washington. No deadline was set for coalition forces to leave, only mild "disagreement" was expressed in response to U.S. warnings to Syria, and there wasn't even a passing reference to the Palestine issue...