Trump to Send Troops to Saudi Arabia in Response to Attack on Oil Facilities

By David Boddiger  |  September 21, 2019 | 3:42pm
White House

The good news is that it appears President Donald Trump
won’t be launching a war against Iran today. However, the administration will
be sending U.S. troops and missile defense equipment to Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates, following an attack
last weekend against Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced the deployment on
Friday. According to the Associated Press, the number of troops sent will be in the
hundreds, along with Patriot missile batteries and enhanced radars.

Last Saturday, oil facilities in Saudi Arabia were struck
during a coordinated attack by drones and missiles, affecting about 5%
of the world’s oil supplies, according to CNN. Speaking to reporters on
Friday, Esper said that Iran was behind the attacks.

“The attack on Sept. 14 against Saudi Arabian oil facilities
represents a dramatic escalation of Iranian aggression,” Esper said,
according to the AP.

However, the report also notes that U.S. officials have not
provided evidence that Iran carried out the attacks. U.S. Central Command
reportedly is investigating debris but has not yet issued an assessment.

Iran has denied the allegation, warning the U.S. that any
attack against that country in response would prompt an “all-out war,”
according to the AP. Houthi rebels fighting Saudi Arabia in Yemen have claimed
responsibility for last weekend’s strike against the oil facilities.

Also on Friday, Trump announced new sanctions against Iran’s
central bank and its sovereign wealth fund, and praised himself for
demonstrating “restraint” in avoiding a boneheaded and dangerous war against
Iran.

“I think the strong person’s approach and the thing that
does show strength would be showing a little bit of restraint,” Trump told
reporters. “Much easier to do it the other way, and Iran knows that if they misbehave,
they are on borrowed time.”

Trump also said Iran would be “going to hell,” and that “a
lot of people respect” his restraint on the matter.

Last Sunday, Trump tweeted that the U.S. was “locked and
loaded” and awaiting
Saudi Arabia’s orders on how to proceed. The next day, he noted that the U.S.
is beholden to the country because “Saudi Arabia pays cash.”

The same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin trolled
Trump by saying at a press conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that Saudi
Arabia should buy Russian air defense systems instead of U.S. ones.

“These kinds of systems are capable of defending any kind of
infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any kind of attack,” Putin said, according
to Politico.

 
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