Free Republic

IYADH, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 18 — 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. 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...

Before there was Iraq, there was Lebanon.  In 1982, following Operation Peace for Galilee, JINSA reported on the international terrorist haven that had arisen in Fatahland – the southern part of Lebanon controlled by Yasser Arafat.  Aside from the expected mélange of Middle Easterners, there were Japanese Red Army, German and Italian Red Brigades, Nicaraguan Sandinistas, Salvadorans, Colombians and Peruvians.  There were Iranian Shi’ites, East Germans and Bulgarians.  Before there was Iraq, there was Lebanon, again.  Religious Iran and secular, Ba’athist Syria made a deal to use Syrian-controlled Lebanon as a base for Hizballah to attack Israel.  Today, Israel...

WASHINGTON, Aug 28, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The Pentagon has withdrawn most of its forces from the strategic Mideast nation of Saudi Arabia, ending a decade-long buildup started after the first war against Iraq's Saddam Hussein. With Saddam ousted from office in neighboring Iraq nearly five months ago, U.S. military officials transferred back to the Saudis control of portions of Prince Sultan Air Base and deactivated the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing that has operated there, the Air Force said in a statement Wednesday. "The end of (major combat operation in Iraq) and Saddam Hussein's government means the American...

Americans officially end era at PSAB PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia -- An F-15 Eagle takes off during Operation Southern Watch, which was a major operation here for the past seven years. U.S. officials ended an era with the inactivation of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing at a ceremony Aug. 26. At the height of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the base was home to more than 5,000 troops and about 200 coalition aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Sean M. Worrell) 8/27/2003 - PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia (AFPN)  -- U.S. officials transferred control of portions of Prince Sultan...

8/27/2003 - PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia (AFPN) -- U.S. officials transferred control of portions of Prince Sultan Air Base to Saudi officials at a ceremony Aug. 26. The ceremony also marked the inactivation of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing. "We came here under difficult circumstances following the Khobar Towers bombing (at Dhahran Air Base),” said Col. James Moschgat, the wing’s commander. “The mission thrived and prospered here, and I believe our legacy will live on. We are leaving after seven years of friendship and cooperation. It's bittersweet, but it's time to go."

A discrete ceremony marked Tuesday the departure of the last American quota of the air base of Prince Sultan with Al-Kharj, some 80 km in the south of Ryad, indicated Western military sources. Nearly 100 members of the American personnel, unit of genius, the civil ones but also of the soldiers, left the base of Prince Sultan, who accomodated the majority of the thousands of American soldiers and allied forces present in the kingdom, added these sources. The vice-commander of the US Air Force in the area, the General Robert Elder chaired the ceremony, specified a person in charge...