Madina Archives

Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Moe_D
04/29/03 at 09:22:15
POSTED AT 7:27 AM EDT     Tuesday, April 29 U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia Associated Press Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia — The United States has begun to move troops out of Saudi Arabia in the first large-scale repositioning of American forces since the war in Iraq. U.S. Vice-Admiral Dave Nichols, a top official at CentCom headquarters in Qatar, said that an air operations centre in Saudi Arabia will be relocating to the Udeid air base, southwest of Doha. He said that nearly all of the 4,500 Air Force personnel here will be in Qatar by the end of the summer. His boss, U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, said Tuesday in Saudi Arabia that Washington is refocusing its military relationship with the Kingdom, moving to train Saudi forces rather than having large numbers of U.S. troops based here. Another report suggested that the move will have much broader implications. Reuters News Service reported Tuesday that Washington is pulling “virtually all” of its forces out of Saudi Arabia, allegedly by mutual agreement. The move followed Riyadh’s refusal to allow bombing raids by the 100 U.S. aircraft based in Saudi Arabia during the conflict, and effectively ends a relationship dating back to 1991. Saudi officials have been uneasy about the presence of U.S. troops in their country since the 1991 war with Iraq, as shown by their attempts to stifle news that U.S. commanders were running the Iraq air war from the Prince Sultan base. The presence of thousands of U.S. soldiers in Saudi Arabia, the land of Islam’s two holiest shrines, has enraged some militant Muslims. It is among the reasons given by Osama bin Laden, the Saudi-born fugitive who heads the al-Qaeda terror network, for his hatred of the United States. Tens of thousands of American service members were stationed in the region before the war with Iraq. Air Force and Navy aircraft patrolled no-fly zones over Iraq. Army soldiers and Marines held exercises in Kuwait as a warning to former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Naval vessels patrolled the gulf, helping to look for ships violating the UN embargo against Iraq. None of those jobs is needed now that Mr. Hussein is no longer in power, Mr. Rumsfeld said, and once Iraq is stabilized, the number of U.S. troops in the region should drop. He added he does not want to have permanent U.S. access to military bases inside Iraq.

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
paula
04/29/03 at 11:50:20
[slm] [size=2][font=Verdana][color=Navy] Here's another report as posted through Yahoo News [url=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=2&u=/nm/20030429/ts_nm/iraq_rumsfeld_dc_19](CLICK to go to direct website)[/url] U.S. Military Pulls Out of Saudi in Realignment By Charles Aldinger RIYADH (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it was ending military operations in Saudi Arabia and removing virtually all its forces from the kingdom by mutual agreement following the Iraq war. Saudi Arabia said it had agreed the move with Washington but denied press reports it had asked the United States to withdraw. U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia, which doubled to 10,000 during the Iraq war, have started pulling out of a desert airbase used by U.S. planes since 1991 in their "Southern Watch" operation to police southern Iraq, U.S. officials said. Political and defense analysts said the decision had huge political implications. The presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia gave Washington a strategic foothold in the Gulf but generated resentment among Arabs because of their proximity to Islam's holiest sites. The announcement, made during a tour of Gulf states by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld focused on reducing the U.S. military in the region, followed Riyadh's refusal to allow air strikes on Iraq by some 100 Saudi-based U.S. aircraft. "After the end of Southern Watch...there is no need for them to remain," Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz told a joint news conference with Rumsfeld. "This does not mean that we requested them to leave." Rumsfeld told reporters after talks with the prince that the "liberation of Iraq" had changed the situation in the Gulf and allowed the United States to reduce its troops in the region. "The relationship between our two countries is multi-dimensional -- diplomatic, economic, as well as military-to-military," he told a news conference. LAUNCH PAD The move effectively ends a relationship dating back 12 years when Washington used Saudi Arabia as a launch pad for the Gulf War to oust Iraqi troops from Kuwait and then based warplanes at the Prince Sultan airbase in the Saudi desert to police a "no-fly" zone over southern Iraq. The presence of Western troops in the kingdom irked many Saudis, already angry with the United States over its perceived bias toward Israel. Ousting U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia became a battle cry of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden  and his al Qaeda network, blamed by Washington for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. "There are political advantages for both. 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," Tim Garden, security analyst at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, told Reuters. "It certainly means the United States is rid of a huge problem," Charles Heyman, editor of Jane's World Armies, told Reuters in London. "There has been agitation for a very long time from inside Saudi Arabia. And it was one of al Qaeda's key demands as well for foreign forces to be removed from the holy ground of Saudi Arabia," Heyman said. After meeting U.S. military personnel at Prince Sultan airbase, Rumsfeld praised the Saudis for being "enormously hospitable to us" during the air operations over southern Iraq. "We look forward to exercising and training and working with them on their military," he said. CROWN PRINCE U.S. officials said a small number of U.S. personnel would remain in Saudi Arabia to train Saudi soldiers and take part in joint exercises. The defense secretary later met Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah before flying to Kuwait. On his week-long tour, Rumsfeld has held talks with leaders in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. He also plans to visit Afghanistan. Defense officials, citing security considerations, declined to say if Rumsfeld would go to Iraq. Saudi Arabia's ruling al Saud family faces U.S. and internal pressure to liberalize politically and modernize an Islamic education system influential Americans say produced militants involved in the 2001 hijacked airliner attacks on U.S. cities. "It is very significant. It reduces America's dependence on Saudi Arabia and it throws open the opportunity for Iraq to become America's favorite base in the region," defense analyst Paul Beaver told Reuters in London. Paris-based defense analyst Francois Gere said Saudi Arabia was also entering a complex reorganization of its leadership. "There is less need both for Saudi territory and Saudi oil, but one should not exaggerate. I think the second message is 'we Americans are going to withdraw a bit from Saudi Arabia and let these people sort out their domestic problems'," he said. U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia said earlier the Pentagon  had also begun moving operations of a key combat air control center from Prince Sultan airbase to the neighboring state of Qatar. The Combined Air Operations Center at the Saudi airbase, set up after the 1991 Gulf War, was used to control U.S.-led air strikes on Iraq in the recent conflict. [wlm] [/color][/font][/size]

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Traveler
04/30/03 at 00:32:24
I sense something big is going down. I feel some new long term american planning has taken into effect. I feel it's a matter of months before saudi arabia becomes the focus of our american media. I'll say my suspicions will be confirmed once we start hearing accounts of human rights violations or breeding of terrorists  in saudi arabia as recurring news announcements on major news networks.

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
paula
05/13/03 at 21:04:14
[slm][size=2][font=Book Antiqua][color=Navy] [/color][/font][/size]     [wlm]
05/13/03 at 21:10:40
paula

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
paula
05/13/03 at 21:59:41
[slm][size=2][font=Book Antiqua][color=Navy] [/color][/font][/size] [wlm]

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
jannah
05/14/03 at 03:23:48
[slm] It is rather odd that the US would pull out of Saudi, which is quite a strategic stronghold....remember what i posted a year ago what someone  in dimashq had said was going to happen... the middle east colonized including saudi,  the only thing left would be makkah and madinah.. the only safe havens... sounds like a hadith huh [quote author=Traveler link=board=ummah;num=1051618935;start=0#2 date=04/30/03 at 00:32:24]   I sense something big is going down. I feel some new long term american planning has taken into effect. I feel it's a matter of months before saudi arabia becomes the focus of our american media. I'll say my suspicions will be confirmed once we start hearing accounts of human rights violations or breeding of terrorists  in saudi arabia as recurring news announcements on major news networks. [/quote]
05/14/03 at 03:24:19
jannah

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
sofia
05/14/03 at 18:53:08
As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah, Hey, so we can discuss world events again (minus banned topics)? What a relief.   [] Right before the US began to bomb Afghanistan, my dad said: Soon, the US will no longer need Saudi. Oil pipe lines through parts of Afghanistan were drafted waaay before 9/11/01, only the T-word never allowed it. Now that that's "a go," and Iraqi oil is "colonized," let's just say I'm praying for Saudi, Syria, etc. Ok, before anyone calls me a conspiratorialist (or whatever), I just wanted to put that out there, as food for thought. Nothing is "too out there," at least not now. And I'm not kidding about the oil pipe line plan being planned way before 9/11/01, check out old issues of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (www.wrmea.com). Anyhow, may Allah strengthen the righteous and make His truth vanquish falsehood, aameen.
05/14/03 at 19:00:00
sofia

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Mujahideen
05/16/03 at 21:03:25
[slm] I have to admit I am a little surprised that they are actually going ahead and pulling them out – at least it looks as though they are pulling them out this time. They have indicated several times in the past they would and failed to do so and I thought this would be just such a case. In terms of what ‘something big going down’ – I would have to agree personally I think eventually Saudi will be invaded, although I don’t really have any direct evidence to support it just my time in the military and some university education on military history and strategic planning. ‘The New American Century Project’ offers some insight into the direction American foreign policy might be headed, some of this has already come to pass some had yet to be attempted. http://www.newamericancentury.org/index.html There are of course a lot of wild cards, especially the next US election. But even if Bush is defeated I don’t really think too much will change. No democrat will be elected if they are soft militarily. [wlm]

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
ltcorpest2
05/16/03 at 23:52:01
i was wondering the same thing,  did they lift the ban officially or are all you guys breaking the rules?  oopss  did i just break the rules.  if so you can move this to the ikhwan club or some place more appropriate.

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
jannah
05/17/03 at 01:13:23
wow apparently no one reads anymore..  :) the ban was until May 1st.. today is May 17th... there were some new rules added however.. check them out in this thread: http://www.jannah.org/cgi-bin/madina/YaBB.pl?board=madinahq;action=display;num=1051764020

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
BroHanif
05/17/03 at 12:44:03
Salaams, Yeah move em and out and what do the Muslims do ? At least make shhukar that they are going. Yet there are some absloute jahils, who deserve to be shot. This week has not been easy on Muslims. The bombing in Riyadh, terrorist alerts in Kenya and then followed by a bloody killing in Morroco. Targeting the innocents and where families reside, acts done by cowards. I hope to Allah those responsible are caught, their infrastructure destroyed and a bullet is placed between their foreheads. No mercy for such evil doers. Salaams Hanif.

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
ltcorpest2
05/17/03 at 21:36:21
jannah,  you assume that we can read AND retain.  I usually need to be told somehting at least 12 times before I can retain anything.

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Halima
05/18/03 at 04:51:26
I have no sympathy for Saudi Arabia.  And none of us should be surprised by the America move.   Halima

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Abu_Hamza
05/18/03 at 18:54:43
[quote author=Halima link=board=ummah;num=1051618935;start=0#12 date=05/18/03 at 04:51:26]I have no sympathy for Saudi Arabia. [/quote] Why?

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
a_Silver_Rose
05/19/03 at 02:14:26
[slm] hmm Saudia ARabia aloud troops there in the first place! It is an ally of the US remember. [quote]Salaams, Yeah move em and out and what do the Muslims do ?   At least make shhukar that they are going.   Yet there are some absloute jahils, who deserve to be shot. This week has not been easy on Muslims. The bombing in Riyadh, terrorist alerts in Kenya and then followed by a bloody killing in Morroco. Targeting the innocents and where families reside, acts done by cowards. I hope to Allah those responsible are caught, their infrastructure destroyed and a bullet is placed between their foreheads. No mercy for such evil doers. Salaams Hanif. [/quote] Ditto! you are the kewlest uncle

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Maliha
05/19/03 at 16:41:21
[slm] [quote author=Halima link=board=ummah;num=1051618935;start=0#12 date=05/18/03 at 04:51:26]I have no sympathy for Saudi Arabia.  And none of us should be surprised by the America move.   Halima[/quote] This is a dangerous statement to make. Saudi Arabia is not some vague entity out there, it is a country full of innocent women, children, fathers, sisters, mothers. A country full of foreigners trudging in from all corners of third world countries trying to make a living. Most importantly it is a country full of our Muslim brothers and sisters. If they are attacked lotsa lives will be lost and it will be simply a reminiscent of our recent tragic history.... I have no sympathy for the ruling elite (which is prolly what you meant), but I know if any attacks are carried out, they are the LAST people who would be injured. They will be safely tucked away in some pent house in Europe watching their subjects being slaughtered. As has happened again and again. If they is a "regime change", in place would be simply another puppet regime happy to please its Masters back in the west. If we go justifying our apathy by slogans like "the people should do something"...we should turn to ourselves and ask what are WE doing about all this madness? May Allah forgive us and guide us through these chaotic times. Sis, Maliha. [wlm]

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Abu_Hamza
05/19/03 at 20:22:40
[slm] Jazaki Allahu khairan Sr. Mystic.  Those thoughts are exactly what I had meant to insinuate with my question "why". May Allah (awj) increase you in your eloquence. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
panjul
05/21/03 at 02:00:37
[slm] The House of Saud feeds off of their people. The House of Saud pretty much controls all of the nation's wealth which goes into their pockets. When the Saud kind goes oversees for a vacation he takes over 200 servants with him, orders fresh flowers everyday which cost around over 2000 dollars a month and his total vaction money amounts to a million and more for less than 2 months. This is the leader of a country whose poverty rate is climing alarmingly, the estimated unemployment rate at 8%, according to the Saud goverment, and at 25% according to Saudi economists. The Saud government has never compiled statistics on unemployment before but because it's facing a huge problem now will do so soon so that the problem can be tackeld. And they are proposing it this way: kick out the foregin nationals working there in jobs which were not wanted previously by the Saudis but are in high demand now. Who are these foregin nationals they want to clean out? Their own Muslim brothers and sisters from third world countries. Who are the nationals not going to kick out? The Europeans and Americans which ar paid higher salaries in Saudi arabai than they would get paid in their own countries for doing the same job. What else are they not going to do? Stop lining thier pockets with the oil money that belongs ot the people but is in control of the Saud family. This is a government who spent money on itself lavishly instead of making Saudi Arabia a industrialized nation. Don't be fooled by the oil wealth. There are slums in Saudi Arabia, tucked far away from the palaces and the cities. The middle class is depleting. How ironic is it that the arab countries despite having so much wealth never became industrialized nations? And how Ironic is it that instead of builiding up a powerful military (or some sort of respectable entity with weapons that could at least defend the country if attacked for a *minute*) with their oil wealth, they look to non-muslim countries for protection? The House of Saud has shot itself in the foot by hoarding its wealth and lining its pockets. They will be humiliated and beaten, and they will make their people go down with them. One this is for sure... no matter how innocent, no matter how powerless people are, they are responsible for where they are going as a society. I have never seen such pacifism in any country in the world, and even among other arab nations as among the people of saudi arabia. Aren't we supposed to forbid evil and promote good? Are the millions of people around the world truly that helpless in front of a few thousand tyrants that rule the world (including all countries)? They say that US is a free country. Free to do what? It's not a free country. Nor is it a free world. And we made it that way. We stand by and watch because we don't want to get in trouble, be looked down on, be jailed, be killed because we have families and we hav jobs, and we have to feed and clothe them. So we let them live in a enslaved world.

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
BroHanif
05/21/03 at 18:57:08
Salaams, [quote]One this is for sure... no matter how innocent, no matter how powerless people are, they are responsible for where they are going as a society. I have never seen such pacifism in any country in the world, and even among other arab nations as among the people of saudi arabia.   [/quote] I agree to what you have said but whats the way forward ?.  Can we not help them ?. Rather than us just posting about the faults of the monarchs we really need to forge an ideal solution otherwise more damage is going to be caused. The goal of liberating the people from their current lives needs to be where the deen is not compromised. I await for you reply Sis Panjul. or anyone else. Salaams Hanif
NS

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Maliha
05/22/03 at 08:32:54
[slm] Since when did Islam become a pacifist religion ??? While we speak of "interfaiths" and "peace talks", chilling around Air conditioned rooms, our brothers and sisters are dying. What do we do about it? When in history has there ever been a bloodless "revolution"? Even during the time of the Rasul  [saw], the Sahabas didn't waste time politricking when the integrity of Muslims was at stake. They fought valiantly for the Sake of Allah, for the sake of all the innocent lives, the vulnerable women and children, protecting their Masajids, their homes, reclaiming their sacred space to live and prosper under the Divine Guidance of Allah. Today Masajids are crumbling around the world, museums with rich histories of our "dead glories" have been reduced to ashes, women, children, and feeble men have no one to turn to but Allah. I wonder if the Rasul  [saw] was here what would he have done? Would he go to a meeting in the White house with the lesser bush and his cohorts to arrange some sort of compromise? Would he sit and rant and rave on the internet about the "situation of the ummah"? What sort of "ideal" solutions would he come up with in the safe havens of the laps of the west to "liberate" our Muslim brothers and sisters? If he took arms and called us all to Jihad, how many of us would willingly go to sacrifice our lives for Allah? There is a time for negotiations and a time for action. I think we are past negotiating. We negotiated our way into the massacres of Bosnia, the ethnic cleansing of Chechnyans, the bloodshed of Kashmir, the ongoing assault on Palestinians, Iraq, etc not to mention the fact that we are gradually being pushed into a corner while the whole world zones in with its murderous claws to ravenously pick apart what's left of us. What do we do now? yeah, let's spend some more time talking about it ::) Frustrated sis, Maliha PS: today I learnt that the Phoenix and the splendor of it rising from it's ashes is nothing but a myth :'( [wlm]
05/22/03 at 08:53:03
Maliha

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
humble_muslim
05/22/03 at 10:52:00
AA Since when did Islam become a religion of killing people indiscrimantely? To keep things simple, let's just look at muslims. Last week in Morroco, a large number of muslims who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time were murdered in cold blood.  What did this achieve for all our suffering brothers and sisters in Palestine?  What would you say to the families of the Moroccans who died, "we're sorry your husband/wife/son died (and was blown to pieces), but we muslims are suffering!".  What kind of logic is this? The ONLY solution is that muslims return to their deen.  When you consider that probably less than 20% of muslims even pray 5 times a day, is our situation any surprise ?
NS

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
BroHanif
05/22/03 at 19:46:18
Salaams, Bro Humble let me give you another sad fact. Just this week Friends of Al-Aqsa send an e-alert out to everyone in the UK asking them to ask their imams at the mosque make dua for the security of Al-Aqsa mosque, since some in the Israeli government have said that they will now go to pray in the Al-Aqsa. Its sickening to say that even some Imans do not know the significance of this mosque and how important it is. How the hell are we going to make dua then ? This is the tragic situation of the Muslims. Yet in the midst of all this Naomi Klein authour of Fences and Windows says the following about the Real American Hero(no not private lynch): [quote]Believing her fluorescent orange jacket would serve as armour, Corrie stood in front of bulldozers, slept beside wells and escorted children to school. If suicide bombers turn their bodies into weapons of death, Corrie turned hers into the opposite - a weapon of life, a "human shield". http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,961000,00.html [/quote] Insha-Allah one day I hope I can do the same. Salaams Hanif
NS

Re: U.S. to pull troops out of Saudi Arabia
Maliha
05/23/03 at 12:32:04
[slm] I am sorry brothers for taking out my frustration on y'all:( I know everyone is doing what they can in their own limited way. I am NOT a proponent of indiscriminate violence. The thing is though this same form of barbaric violence is turned on us. All I am saying is before we jump to label these desperate frustrated people, we need to really look at the context of why it is happening. We can NOT continue to be reactionary and apologetic. I am sick of sitting around saying "they are not really representing Islam" blah blah blah. You can say that till you are blue in the face, but the reality is far deeper than that. They are STILL our Muslim brothers and sisters, they are acting out of sheer desperation because of the reign of terror unleashed on them. We need to take a stance and work towards changing the context they live in, instead of just writing them off as "cowards" etc. We are not in their position. And honestly its NOT a cowardly act. You can say you feel their pain, but really...it's not the same. The deep psychological scars and heart wrenching bitterness they have to live with is something alien to us. I am hurting and sick of sitting around tables trying to "understand" each other when people are dying... What are Real concrete things we can do? Where can we go from here? Sis, Maliha [wlm]
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board A R C H I V E S Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author. The rest © Jannah.Org