Well he could claim that but I think he must know this is actually a loss for him. As I understand it(and of course this is based on news reports and such. Sorry, I don’t understand arabic) Bin Laden goal is to re-establish a pan islamic state.(A caliphate that he or his sons would almost certainly rule.) The thing is if there’s a lot of pissed off muslims then there’s a good chance for unrest and this could lead to his goal. However the removal of the US from Saudi Arabia would probably reduce tension and reduce unrest which he must realize is bad for his business. There’s just going to be less people signing up to fight for him given that turn of events. Of course the war in Iraq could give him new followers, especially if the US botches the peace. (But in the end my opinion is anything that reduces tensions would be a major blow against him.)
Would it be overly cynical of me if I were to wonder if one of the motivations for the U.S. pulling out of Saudi Arabia now is because we’ve finally secured our own direct source of Middle Eastern oil (e.g., Iraq)?
And I agree with Sofa King – without the U.S. forces nearby to keep the royal family propped up, the chances of a Saudi uprising have probably increased significantly.
Apos I agree with you (see my earlier post).
But in a way, there’s probably a tiny grain of truth in your tongue-in-cheek OP, at least among the hard-core true believers who will never admit defeat. The OBL loyalists and Arab street seems quite Orwellian to me in its ability to believe just about anything.
rjung:
I predict the opposite. I think it’s more likely you will hear various calls for tiny bits of reform and liberalization coming from the sheiks and clerics in the coming weeks.
Frankly, I think the House of Saud is MUCH happier than we are that our troops are leaving. And I have a hard time believing Bush, Rumsfeld, and co. would evacuate SA so quickly after the war if they really thought the House of Saud was at risk.
And, it’s important to note, the U.S. will keep some soldiers around in SA to train the SA army. The U.S. will also keep the SA base hard-wired to enable us to quickly ramp up the base, if necessary.
Or to aid the escape of the oppressing scum, sorry, Saud family and their most prized assets should the day come …
I disagree. I think it’s more the opposite.
Have a read here:
http://www.biggles.co.uk/Columbus/data/sau/sau580.htm
In short: The House of Saud is not liked by the Saudi population. The House of Saud was put in power with help of Britain, who promised “Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdar-Rahman, better known as ‘Ibn Saud’” power if he helped them fighting against the Ottoman Empire. So again, land was partitioned, taken from whomever was there first, and then given to “vassals”.
The House of Saud is quite substantial, about 3000 princes alone, I read somewhere. They’re also very obviously obnoxiously rich, and flaunt that richess, too.
That does not sit well with the Saudi population. The fact that a lot of Saudi’s have sympathy for the Palestinian cause, and then see their own monarchy become best buddies with the US, did not help the House of Saud’s popularity.
So I don’t think the US forces were in Saudi Arabia to prop up the house of saud.
I think the US left to keep the house of saud in power.
The House of Saud is the US’s main ally in the ME, and their relationship is also the main reason why the oil currency is American Dollars. There was growing tension among the Saudi’s because American Forces were stationed so close to their two most holy cities. The House of Saud had to walk a fine line to keep everyone happy.
I think both US and HoS decided it was time for the US military to leave SA territory, as the reason why (flyzone security etc) they were there had been made obsolete now Iraq is Saddam-free, and nobody wanted popular rising against the HoS. I mean, imagine the Saudi’s elect someone who’s not that US-friendly ?
old site, but well worth a read:
http://www.fas.org/man/crs/93-113.htm
A newspaper editorial that (sort of) says the same thing as the OP:
My feeling is that the US will actually have an increased military presence in the Middle East - I don’t doubt the newly liberated Iraq will be home to a large number of US forces for many years.
You all do realize that those troops were in SA with the approval of the Saudi government- right?
Hardly an “occupying force” if you have an engraved invitation.
They were viewed as one, however.
London_Calling:
Unfortunately, I think there’s probably much truth to your statement, London_Calling.
And it’s to our embarrassment and shame if this turns out to be the case.