Riyadh — Saudi Government has approved deployment of US armed forces to preserve peace in the region, Saudi Ministry of Defense announced on Saturday.
The strategic decision was taken by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces King Salman bin Abdulzeez Al-Saud to increase the joint Saudi-US cooperation for security, stability and peace in the region.
“The decision is part of the ongoing efforts being made by Saudi Arabia and the US to strengthen regional security and stability”, the official report stated.
On Sunday, a joint military exercise took place between Saudi Royal Land Forces and the US Army at the King Khaled Military City in the Northern Region.
The Saudi-US strategic relationship goes back to the era of World War II. According to Wafa 2005, when Saudi-US relations were put on the “back burner”, it left Saudi Arabia vulnerable to attacks. Italy bombed a CASOC oil installation in Dahran jeopardizing the oil production. Since Saudi oil is a valuable asset to the United States, protection of the Saudi oil fields is US’ top priority.
Moreover, analysts explain that since Saudi Arabia hosts millions of Hajj pilgrims every year, so it can’t risk the lives of Muslim pilgrims, hence it has needed an external police-men to keep the guard over the country’s borders.
