Posted on 10/11/2019 1:47:51 PM PDT by tkocur
Roughly 1,800 U.S. service members, as well as several dozen fighter jets and other air defense implements, will be sent to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Kingdom amid heightened tensions with Iran, the Pentagon announced Friday.
Officials said the U.S. is set to ship two F-15 squadrons, two Patriot missile batteries, one anti-missile defense system known as THADD and other planes.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said he informed Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman earlier Friday about the additional troops “to ensure and enhance the defense of Saudi Arabia.”
"Saudi Arabia is a longstanding security partner in the Middle East and has asked for additional support to supplement their own defense and defend the international rules-based order," Esper told reporters at the Pentagon.
The Pentagon’s announcement came just hours after Iranian officials said two missiles from an undetermined source hit one of its oil tankers that was traveling through the Red Sea about 60 miles off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
The explosions from the missiles damaged two storerooms aboard the oil tanker – identified as the Sibiti – and caused a brief oil leak into the Red Sea. The leak was later plugged, Iranian state television reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Folks,
You need to get a little bit of perspective here. Look at the units they are sending, Patriot batteries and Thaad missile systems. This is purely a strategic posture to protect those oil fields and not further destabilize the world oil markets. This is what Iran wants, they need money and they need oil prices to rise. We are winning this war/non war with them.
As for the Salafists, they are as much a threat to the Kingdom of Saud as they are to us. Let them overrun the Kingdom and we’ll have another enemy just like we acquired when the peacock throne fell in Iran. How has that worked out over the past 40 years? Iran has been responsible for more terrorism in the world over the past 40 years than anyone else. Beirut happened 36 years ago but it’s fresh in my mind like it was yesterday. Perhaps we should have been a little more pro active with the Shah....
“Seems you missed there are 2 Kurd factions. One is hard core Islamists, the other moderate and they fight amongst each other. “
Seems you missed the test on knowledge of the Kurds.
There is more than one political faction of Kurds and neither one are “hard core Islamist”. Americans fight among each other too, but if it was our existential existence as a people at stake, we would fight together, as do the Kurds.
15 of 19
Just make it glass.
“But tell me again why the Saudis - the richest country in the Middle East - are incapable if fighting for themselves.”
They are outnumbered by our common enemy, the “Death to America” mullah regime in Iran.
This is part of a long-planned and mutually agreed upon strategic campaign against Iran, which included some security guarantees for the Saudis, for their participation. They have already taken some big hits.
“Imperial England tried to take it and failed, The Soviet Union tried and failed, now we gave it a wack and failed.”
On the contrary, all three succeeded in taking Afghanistan, as did the Mongols, Persians and Greeks.
They did not keep it forever, like so many other former colonies around the world (the USA included). Times change, and Afghanistan has just not been a particularly productive, profitable colony to maintain.
Don’t know why, you made me think of 7of9. ...that led to complex costume design. ..then that led to bbqs, then that led to the 3stooges. ..
https://youtu.be/oWpAnnhwRo4
What I don’t get. ..why do women hate the three stooges?
“This is part of a long-planned and mutually agreed upon strategic campaign against Iran, which included some security guarantees for the Saudis, for their participation. They have already taken some big hits.”
B.S.
I am not fooled by the Saudis. We may be their friend, but they are not ours. Religiously and philosophically they are only 1 degree from the Mullahs of Tehran, and that 1 degree is that they are Sunni and the Mullahs; are Shia and both want to be the head honchos of Islam. They are both dictatorial states, both with religious police, both enforce sharia laws, both execute folks for blasphemy, both suppress freedom of religion and free speech and both execute folks for challenging the political views of the leaders.
The fight between the Mullahs of Tehran and the Wahabi Saudi is a fight over Islam. We do not have a dog in that fight.
On a moments notice the Saudis will have delivery of nuclear arms from Pakistan. We should tell them to do it, now. MAD will then end the Mullahs attempt to intimidate the Saudis without any help from us.
But no-we didn’t pull out of Syria. We are still there. We just moved our guys out of that region so Turkey could move in. And then we sent more troops to Saudi.
“B.S. We do not have a dog in that fight.”
B.S.
How quick you are to forget those Marines killed in the Beirut bombing, and all those American Servicemen killed and maimed at Iran’s direction in Iraq, and their continued planning, funding and organizing to strike against the USA - including in the USA - while they publicly lead chants of “Death to America”.
Waiting for nukes to go off, before it passes your threshold of a dog in the fight?
“Waiting for nukes to go off, before it passes your threshold of a dog in the fight?”
No. MAD actually works. Think about.
There was no major war between us and the Soviets because MAD actually worked. The last war between India and Pakistan was before they both acquired nuclear weapons. None have occurred since; they don’t let things go too far. MAD works there too. Letting the Saudis have nuclear weapons would wind up preventing a major military conflict between them and Iran. MAD would work in their case too.
Works for me.
Oh, got it.
It’s hard to keep track of so many history details. I forget a lot too. But I sure didn’t forget that sneaky part of the 911 terrorists fooling the Florida Aviation school into thinking they wanted to be real pilots.
Yes, Illan Omar should be investigated and deported when it is discovered that she’s only here because she committed fraud.
Surely many people in Minn will not vote for her this time around because too much dirt has come out on her shady past. I’m sure many voters thought, “I’ll vote for her to give a Muzzie a chance because I don’t want to be racist.”
Easy. He wants to lure Iran into further involvement with Syria. Turkey’s coming in there, Iran has a restive Kurdish population, too. They can score points with them by “defending” the Syrian Kurds that Trump has supposedly abandoned, from the evil Sunni Turks. Hardening Saudi Arabia makes that move the avenue of least resistance, and at the same time deters the Iranian proxy in Yemen from further adventurism.
It’s too much to hope for, but what if Trump got my memo about the Ahwazi, and while all these maneuvers are occupying Iran’s attention, he is busily but quietly ferrying arms from Kuwait across the Tigris to the waiting Ahwazi insurgents, who will make a play for independence at the right moment. Iran loses 80-90% of its oil fields while it’s over-extended in Syrian Kurdistan, and it’s check and mate. But naaah.
Years ago Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial complex which today we call the Deep State. It is the Deep State that profits from our continuing involvement in never ending wars in the Middle East. For years Trump said we need to pull out and concentrate on problems we here have at at home. I suspect President Trump is getting bad advice from from dishonest advisors who are working for shadowy masters. One should also wonder why operatives push for us to get involved in other nation’s whose populations are made up mostly of citizens who openly reject the divinity of Jesus.
This probably has more to do about Iran than Saudi Arabia.
Jordan and Oman are pretty solid allies, at least their leaders are. The leaders of both of those countries even served a couple of years in the British army deployed as junior officers commanding platoons in an infantry batallion or cavalry regiment. They are pro-western to the core and the relationship is so solid that Abdullah of Jordan stood in for the Queen not so long ago Sandhurst passing out parade where his son graduated.
Hong Kong is up for grabs
London is full of Arabs
We could be in Palestine
Overrun by a Chinese line
With the boys from the Mersey and the Thames and the Tyne
____________________________________________________
Ah, Mister Elvis Costello.
It is interesting to consider that this song is just about 40 years old. The veil over his work is thinner than most.
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