US Fails to Protect Saudi Oil Site - Thousands of US Troops - Dozens of Ships - Drones and Satellites - Yet - They Never Saw It Coming - Failed to Shoot Down a Single Missile with billions in US Systems
We must ask ourselves how—while under the watchful eye of the world’s
leading military superpower—was it possible for the world’s largest oil
processing facility to be targeted so heavily and in such dramatic
fashion?
As stated by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), “protecting Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf producers has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy for decades” as “providing security for the oil-rich Persian Gulf region has been a U.S. priority since World War II.”
The Brookings Institution further argues
that deterring Iran’s ability to encroach on Saudi oil fields is one of
the main reasons for a continued American military presence in the
region. To that end, the U.S. even provides Saudi terminals with sophisticated U.S.-made Hawk surface-to-air missiles.
According to
an estimate by Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), the U.S. spends
approximately $81 billion a year protecting oil supplies around the
world. This calculation is allegedly on the conservative side, as it
doesn’t include the full costs to “protect” oil fields in Iraq, for
example.
This time last year, the U.S. president launched one of his famous
Twitter blasts in which he claimed the US was protecting countries in
the Middle East all the while those same countries push for “higher and higher oil prices.” It is hard to imagine he could have meant anyone besides Saudi Arabia.
Bearing in mind that, not too long ago, the U.S. deployed
500 troops to the Kingdom for the first time since 2003 as a show of
strength in Washington’s spat with Iran. With so much support, even if
the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were unable to deter or defend from such an
attack, surely they would have at least have evidence of how it was
perpetrated. And if that evidence does indeed exist, why was it not
quickly presented in lieu of crying “Iran” (which is starting to sound a
lot like crying “wolf”).
A handful of photos and anonymous statements are not going to cut it this time around.
Why is the U.S. government so sure that Iran was behind the attack
and not the more likely culprit—the Houthi rebels who are currently
locked in a brutal and deadly conflict with the Kingdom? After all, even
the New York Times notes that Houthi drones have a range of nearly 1,000 miles, which give them the capability to strike Saudi territory.
In fact, the spokesman for the Houthi-allied Yemeni army, Brigadier General Yahya Saree recently told MintPress News, of a “new missile” and that vital targets within Saudi Arabia will be focused on. MintPress reports that during a test, “Yemen’s
Houthi-allied army launched a ballistic missile attack on a
yet-unidentified military position in Saudi Arabia’s eastern Dammam
province. The strike was the first time the Houthis or their allied
forces stuck eastern Saudi Arabia, and the missile is reported to have
traveled nearly 800 miles to reach its target. Dammam is a major oil
export hub and houses several major companies including Saudi Aramco.”
According to Saree, the launching of the long-range ballistic missile was “a new and practical test of the Yemeni missile force.”
Source
https://outline.com/TZ9uw5
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