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In recent weeks, the United States has withdrawn its state-of-the-art missile defense system and Patriot battery from Saudi Arabia, even though the kingdom is still facing continuous airstrikes by the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
As the defense system was redeployed at the Prince Sultan Air Base outside Riyadh, the Gulf Arab countries watched nervously as the U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in chaos, including the last-minute withdrawal from the besieged international airport in Kabul.
Although tens of thousands of US troops remain in the Arabian Peninsula to fight Iran, the Gulf Arab countries are worried about the future plans of the United States because the US military believes that the threat to Asia is growing and requires these missile defense systems.
As the nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers broke down, the negotiations in Vienna seemed to be deadlocked, and tensions remained high, which increased the risk of confrontation in the region in the future.
“Whether rooted in the cold, icy reality or not, perception is important. James A Baker III researcher Kristian Ulrichsen said: “In the eyes of many decision-making authorities in the region, the United States does not This view is very obvious if we are committed to the Gulf region as we have done in the past. “Rice University Institute of Public Policy.
“From a Saudi perspective, they now see that the decisions made by Obama, Trump and Biden-the three presidents-somehow meant giving up.”
2019 attacks
The Prince Sultan Air Base is located about 115 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of Riyadh. Since missiles and drones attacked the Kingdom’s oil production center in 2019, it has hosted thousands of US troops. According to experts and the physical debris left behind, although the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have launched the attack, it appears to have been carried out by Iran. Tehran denied the attack, but Iranian paramilitary forces used similar drones during an exercise in January.
Just to the southwest of the Air Force Base’s runway, a one-square-kilometer (about one-third of a square mile) area led by an earth embankment has US troops stationed in Patriot missile batteries and an advanced terminal high-altitude air defense system. According to Planet Satellite images from Labs Inc., THAAD can destroy ballistic missiles at a higher altitude than the Patriot.
A satellite image seen by the Associated Press at the end of August showed that some batteries in the area have been removed, but activities and vehicles can still be seen. A high-resolution planetary laboratory satellite photo taken on Friday showed that the battery pad at the site was empty and there was no visible activity.
There have been rumors of redeploying missiles for months, partly because of the desire to face the imminent “major power conflict” with China and Russia in the eyes of US officials. However, the withdrawal coincided with a drone attack by Houthi forces in Saudi Arabia that injured eight people and damaged a commercial jetliner at the airport in Abha. Since March 2015, the kingdom has been in a deadlock with the Houthis.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby admitted that “certain air defense assets have been redeployed” [File: AP Photo]Pentagon spokesman John Kirby admitted that “certain air defense assets have been redeployed.” He said that the United States has maintained a “broad and profound” commitment to its ASEAN friends.
Kirby said: “The Department of Defense continues to maintain tens of thousands of troops and a strong force posture in the Middle East, representing some of our most advanced air power and maritime capabilities to support the national interests of the United States and our regional partnership.”
Saudi Arabia confirmed
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Defense described the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States as “strong, long-term, and historic,” despite acknowledging that the United States has withdrawn from the missile defense system. The statement stated that the Saudi army “has the ability to defend its land, sea and airspace and protect its people.”
“The friendly United States of America redeployed some defensive capabilities from the region through a common understanding and readjustment of defensive strategies as an attribute of operational deployment and deployment,” it said.
Despite these assurances, Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal is the country’s former intelligence chief. His public statements are often consistent with the ideas of the Saudi ruling family. He directly links the deployment of Patriot missiles to the relationship between the United States and Riyadh.
“I think we need to feel relieved about America’s commitment,” the prince told CNBC in an interview broadcast this week. “For example, when Saudi Arabia became a victim of missile and drone strikes, it didn’t look like the Patriot missile was withdrawn from Saudi Arabia — not only from Yemen, but also from Iran.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited the Middle East in recent days. He was originally scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia. However, the trip was cancelled due to scheduling issues mentioned by US officials. Saudi Arabia refused to discuss why the visit to Austin did not take place after the withdrawal of the missile defense system.
Saudi Arabia maintains its Patriot missile battery pack and usually fires two missiles at the incoming target. During the Houthis, this has become an expensive proposal because each Patriot missile costs more than $3 million. The kingdom also claimed to have intercepted almost all missiles and drones launched in the kingdom. Experts previously questioned a very high success rate.
Although Greece agreed to provide Patriot missile batteries to Saudi Arabia in April, the timing of the U.S. withdrawal comes at a time when there is greater uncertainty about the U.S. situation in the region. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries have resumed diplomacy with Iran as a hedge.
“I think we saw in Biden’s statement on Afghanistan that the way he said what he said clearly puts American interests first. Obviously this has greatly disappointed partners and allies around the world. They may hope to follow Trump. It’s different,” Ulrichsen said. “He sounds a lot like the’America First’ approach, but with a different tone.”
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