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Page added on July 4, 2014
Saudi Arabia sends 30,000 troops to border with Iraq
Saudi Arabia deployed 30,000 soldiers to its border with Iraq after Iraqi soldiers abandoned the area, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said on Thursday, but Baghdad denied this and said the frontier remained under its full control.
The world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia shares an 800-km (500-mile) border with Iraq, where Islamic State insurgents and other Sunni Muslim militant groups seized towns and cities in a lightning advance last month.
King Abdullah has ordered all necessary measures to protect the kingdom against potential “terrorist threats”, state news agency SPA reported on Thursday.
The U.S.-allied kingdom overcame its own al Qaeda insurgency almost a decade ago and is wary of any encroaching new threat from radical Sunni Islamists.
The Dubai-based al-Arabiya said on its website that Saudi troops fanned into the border region after Iraqi government forces withdrew from positions, leaving the Saudi and Syrian frontiers unprotected.
The Iraqi prime minister’s military spokesman denied the forces had withdrawn. “This is false news aimed at affecting the morale of our people and the morale of our heroic fighters,” Lieutenant General Qassim Atta told reporters in Baghdad. He said the frontier, which runs through largely empty desert, was “fully in the grip” of Iraqi border troops.
The satellite channel said it had obtained a video showing some 2,500 Iraqi soldiers in the desert region east of the Iraqi city of Karbala after pulling back from the border.
An officer in the video aired by al-Arabiya said that the soldiers had been ordered to quit their posts without justification. The authenticity of the recording could not immediately be verified.
16 Comments on "Saudi Arabia sends 30,000 troops to border with Iraq"
Arthur on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 6:48 am
Let’s hope for the king that these 30,000 soldiers don’t behave the same as their collegues in Eyeraq and Novorossia and defect.
JuanP on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 8:50 am
Now KSA has become the meat in a terrorist bread sandwich, with Yemen on the South and ISIS on the north. The cheese of course being Shia minorities in oil producing areas of KSA. Who wouldn’t want a bite of that?
Davy on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 9:39 am
Jaun, Yemen is preoccupied with itself and growing more thirsty by the day and less oil by the day. I see the terrorist there having their hands full with the government there let alone move into KSA. Have the Yemen terrorist pledged allegiance to IS like IS demands. They may want to have nothing to do with IS. IS will find no love in the Shia regions of KSA after witnessing summary Shia executions on YouTube. I imagine the whole western world will offer aid to KSA in times of difficulty knowing their livelihood depends on it. The key to the terrorist puzzle is popular support in KSA. The majority Saudi’s are not stupid they know what ingredients it takes for prosperity namely stability.
Plantagenet on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 11:30 am
Davy: Its a nice fantasy that the western will “rush” in, but the western world is also dependent on Iraqi oil exports, but I don’t see the “whole western world” rushing to aid Iraq.
The fact is that without US leadership, the whole western world isn’t going to rush to do anything. And right now, with Obama as president, there isn’t any US leadership to speak of.
Davy on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 12:03 pm
Plant, well, then the US with western support. I was mainly referring to the potential dangers to the KSA of an IS move on them. I don’t see this unless a popular uprising develops with the KSA army fracturing. This is always possible with what we know of the monarchy weaknesses and the power plays that must be going on behind the scenes. The Iraq situation will play out with a breakup along ethnic lines which after all was always contemplated and expected by many. IMA the breakup is desirable in many circles.
Plantagenet on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 12:22 pm
It sounds like a great plot for a Hollywood movie—the Caliphate invades,the KSA army fractures, Obama give a big speech, the Congress votes for war, the US rushes in to save them, western allies rally to the USA, and goodness triumphs over evil.
Lets hope we have a happy ending to all this, as you imagine will occur.
dissident on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 6:44 pm
Hilarious. No calls by NATO to pull Saudi troops back from the border. NATO is a hypocritical joke.
antaris on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 8:10 pm
Plant, your idiot god bush,should have left Hussein doing his thing. Many thousands would still be alive. Most of the time you sound as dumb as bush.
Makati1 on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 8:38 pm
The US buys more non-OPEC oil than OPEC oil these days. China is now the biggest customer of the Saudis. The US is financially and morally bankrupt and China is not likely to fund another war by the US anywhere. I suspect the Chinese will just deal with the winner in the area as it did in Iraq.
Makati1 on Fri, 4th Jul 2014 8:52 pm
Arthur, to answer a previous question. “How I got to the Philippines?”
I met someone who invited me to visit them in Dubai. I had never traveled to the Middle East so I took the opportunity and went. I was then invited to visit them in the Ps when they returned home. I did and liked it so much I retired and moved there in 2008. Been there ever since and don’t regret a minute of it. The change has been eye opening and challenging. Just what a 70 year old needs to keep young.
Arthur on Sat, 5th Jul 2014 5:16 am
Ok makati, hope it pays off for you and that 2008 Ps will remain the same for a long time to come. I can very well imagine that the climate, people, scenery and atmosphere are pleasant and much more relaxed than the West, certainly in the winter. And that your retirement dollars make you a relative king in ‘3rd world’ Ps.
3 years ago I spent some time in Sevastopel, Crimea, that was still Ukrainian at the time.lol I really liked it: relaxed atmosphere, insane low property prices: $50k for a brand new 100m2 apartment with Black Sea view, nice mediterranean climate with palm trees, beautiful mountains. It was tempting, as a second home, to spend the winters and escape the grey dull Dutch winter I grow to hate more with every passing year.
Davy on Sat, 5th Jul 2014 7:51 am
Art, Mak, is in his 70’s so in a few years ready for the nursing home or assisted living unfortunately there are few such places in the P’s. Hopefully his dementia will not go full blown or he will be left on the side of the road and trampled by the hordes deserting the city looking for food. The P’s are in the worst possible position for an economic descent (food/fuel crisis) and climate change (typhoons/high temps). The P’s are on track to be failed state primarily because of population overshoot and climate change. This is unfortunate because the Philippian people there are some of the nicest people in the world.
Arthur on Sat, 5th Jul 2014 2:59 pm
Davy, I know Bill for 30 months now and I can assure there is not a trace of dementia in him. Unfortunately I know all to well what the symptoms are from my own dear father, during his last year on this planet.
Ten years ago I told one of my best clients ever that in 10 years time (2014) ‘Jan Modaal’ would not be driving a car anymore, after an imprudent diat of Richard Heinberg literature.
I was in a traffic jam today, together with an aweful lot of Jan Modaals.
Morale: those announced dead, live longer. I’m not so sure the expected breakdown in fossil fuel supply is immanent.
So, now shoes off, beer on the table and watch Holland hopefully beating Costa Rica for the world cup! ^^
Davy on Sat, 5th Jul 2014 5:43 pm
Alright Art, excessive on my part. It comes from Mak’s constant irritation. I still feel he has a screw missing causing continuous mouth movement with little of value being said besides bad mouthing my country.
Makati1 on Sat, 5th Jul 2014 11:30 pm
Davy, it is my country also, for the last 14 generations. That does not mean I have to like it or live there. I lived with my EX for 28 years but that did not mean I had to stay in that negative situation forever. That should prove my sanity if nothing else.
I come from a family of long lived and healthy males. Father lived to 89 and died from pneumonia. Several uncles are past 90 and still living on their own. My worse health problem at 70 is an allergy that I can control easily. No other heath problems, or meds. As for healthcare here, I can hire a nurse for less than you probably spend on beer, if I ever need one. However, my friends here will take care of me when and if. You cannot understand the culture here until you live in it for years.
As for the Philippines being worse than the US, we shall see, but I think it will be worse there in the US and much sooner. After all, ~20% of Americans are on tranquilizers to cope with life there already. They are most likely armed. What happens when…
Davy on Sun, 6th Jul 2014 5:56 am
Mak, the fact is you are 70 and the end of BAU is near. Your chances of survival are low considering the new normal life expectancy will be way down. Good luck buddy with finding a maid to wipe your butt. You should have stayed with your family in the USA where your real support was. Mak, I was wondering about you and your family. They must really tire of your anti-American bullshit. They must be glad when you drive off to the airport to see you gone back to your third world holiday home. Mak, you can’t have it both ways. Please spare me the 14 generation poop and then turn around with every other word a negative of the US. You are no longer American and if you asked Americans what they thought of your posts they would judge you a traitor. You are harming America through your words. I am glad you are gone. One less ass to pay for through our health care system.