Thirteen years ago, the United States positioned thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia. President Bush managed to convince the Saudi king that an American military presence in Saudi Arabia would be his best protection against the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. They’ve been there ever since.
The strong military presence in the kingdom has generated much Arab resentment because of its nearness to Islam’s holiest sites. Saudi born Osama bin Laden cited the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia as a primary reason for the Sept. 11 attacks.
Last Tuesday, the United States announced that it has decided to end military operations in Saudi Arabia by removing most of its forces from the kingdom. The announcement came during Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s recent tour of the Gulf. Saudi Arabia said it agreed to the move, denying reports that it had asked the United States to leave.
American military personnel have already been moved out of an airbase which has been used by U.S. planes since 1991 in operation “Southern Watch,” a watchguard system designed specifically to police southern Iraq. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz said that after the recent Iraq war, “there is no need for them to remain, (but) that does not mean that we requested them to leave.” Rumsfeld told reporters that the “liberation of Iraq” has changed the political climate in the region and has thus given Washington the liberty to reduce the number of troops in the Gulf. “The relationship between our two countries is multi-dimensional: diplomatic, economic, as well as military-to-military,” he said.
Many political and defense analysts are saying that the U.S. military withdrawal from Saudi Arabia has major political implications. The move ends a relationship that dates back to 1991 when Washington used Saudi Arabia to launch the Gulf War. Many Saudis were already angry with America’s strong alliance with Israel and the presence of Western troops in the kingdom merely served to add fuel to the fire. The ousting of American troops from Saudi Arabia became the banner under which bin Laden and Al Qaeda marched in their campaign against the West. The removal of the troops is seen by many as a step forward in reducing the chances of another 9-11.
“There are political advantages for both,” Tim Garden, security analyst at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, told Reuters. “The U.S. will have greater freedom of action, the Saudis will feel more comfortable – and neither of them will have to mention that it was a key demand of Osama bin Laden.”
Not every expert believes that this move is a big deal, though.
KCC’s Dr. Overton, who holds a doctorate in Middle East studies, thinks that while it will make some Saudis happier, the removal of U.S. troops may not be worthy of all the media hype. “I would like to see what they’re talking about in terms of ‘most’. They’re not saying ‘all’ so it means that Americans will still have bases there,” said Overton.
“The presence is going to be there and the United States is a very large naval power, so if you take them out of Saudi Arabia and put them on ships in the Gulf, how far are they really going?”
Dr. Overton said that while the removal of American troops is advantageous for both the United States and the Saudis, Saudi Arabia will now have to confront their own internal problems from which the U.S. presence was a distraction. “The biggest threat for Saudi Arabia is now internal not external and there’s nothing the United States can do about that,” said Overton, agreeing that that it is no longer necessary for American troops to be in Saudi Arabia.
As for this recent move reducing the threat of future terror attacks on the West, Overton says there’s a better way to undermine bin Laden’s movement: finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli question. “Osama bin Laden’s network has been crippled, but it hasn’t been destroyed. He’s still a threat,” said Overton. “Solving the Palestinian-Israeli question will go a long way to undermine bin Laden’s movement because many of his supporters are people who are frustrated by what they see as the West’s domination of the area as well as the unfair treatment of the Arabs – especially the Palestinians,” Overton said. “If you take that away, things will be much more difficult for Osama bin Laden.”