US LAWMAKERS PROPOSE PULLING TROOPS FROM SAUDI ARABIA, UAE AFTER OPEC CUT

Thu 06 October 2022:

On Thursday, three Democratic representatives introduced legislation that would call for the withdrawal of vital US military equipment stationed in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which together comprise about 30 percent of global crude oil reserves, have some 5,000 U.S. troops stationed there. In addition to removing those troops and American missile defense systems from the two countries, the legislation introduced by Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) and Susan Wild (D-Pa.) would move all U.S. technology and defense systems elsewhere in the region.

The act’s introduction comes one day after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi threw their weight behind OPEC+’s decision to cut the bloc’s oil output by 2 million barrels per day starting in November. The decision is all but certain to raise US oil prices as Democrats head into November’s midterm elections with hopes on maintaining their hold of both chambers of Congress.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and Russia announced they had agreed to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day to raise prices.

This cut represents some 2 percent of global oil production and it’s likely to further harm countries struggling with supply shortages and rising energy prices, especially in Europe. But most of all, this decision will probably help Russia, whose revenues had recently been hurt by the drop in oil prices.

The White House sharply lashed out at OPEC+’s decision on Wednesday, saying it is a “clear” indication that the bloc is “aligning with Russia” at a time when Moscow is continuing to press its war against neighboring Ukraine.

The act’s sponsors said Saudi Arabia and the UAE have “long relied on an American military presence in the Gulf to protect their security and oil fields,” and that following their support for OPEC+’s action, “we see no reason why American troops and contractors should continue to provide this service to countries that are actively working against us.”

“If Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to help Putin, they should look to him for their defense,” Casten, Malinowski and Wild said in a joint statement. “This decision is a turning point in our relationship with our Gulf partners.”

“If Saudi Arabia and the UAE hope to maintain a relationship with the United States that has been overwhelmingly beneficial to them, they must show a greater willingness to work with us — not against us — in advancing what is now our most urgent national security objective: the defeat of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine,” they added.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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