Attacks on Saudi Arabia Spell Bad News for the U.S. Military
Despite billions in U.S. arms sales and training arrangements, the Saudi military appears incapable of protecting its own oil infrastructure
As the security situation in the Persian Gulf continues to deteriorate in the aftermath of Sunday’s cruise missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities, the Trump administration finds itself in an increasingly dire situation — and its apparently dysfunctional relationship with both Iran and Saudi Arabia appears to be to blame.
The attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities early Sunday morning, apparently carried out by Iran and its regional allies, highlights the terrible strategic position faced by the Trump administration in confronting Iran militarily in its own neighborhood.
Iran denies launching the attacks, pointing out that the Houthi militants in Yemen have claimed ownership of the strike. Yet Iran and the Houthi are close allies, and the weapons appear to have been supplied by Iran. Assuming Tehran is indeed behind the strike, which knocked about 5% of the world’s oil production offline for a yet undetermined amount of time, it confirmed what military experts have long suspected: Despite billions in U.S. arms sales and training arrangements, the Saudi military…
