Intel

U.S. Commander Says Military Seeks ‘Fallback’ Saudi Bases Amid Tensions With Iran

February 20, 2021Coffee or Die
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the commander of U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), left, walks with Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Jan. 24, 2020. McKenzie visited the USCENTCOM Area of Responsibility to discuss security and stability in the region with forward deployed service members. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Roderick Jacquote)

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the commander of U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), left, walks with Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Jan. 24, 2020. McKenzie visited the USCENTCOM Area of Responsibility to discuss security and stability in the region with forward deployed service members. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Roderick Jacquote)

This article was originally published Feb. 19, 2021, on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.


The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East says the U.S. military is looking for so-called “fallback” bases in Saudi Arabia to protect forces in the event of raised tensions with Iran.


“What we would like to do, without shutting down [current] bases…is to have the ability to go to other bases to operate in a period of heightened risk,” General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the U.S. Army Central Command (Centcom), said on February 18.


He made the comments while on a tour of the Middle East, during which he also assailed the Taliban for increased violence in Afghanistan.


Referring to Saudi Arabia, McKenzie stressed that the Pentagon was not looking for new permanent bases, but rather sites that could be quickly utilized in time of crisis.


“These are things that any prudent military planner would want to do to increase their flexibility, to make it more difficult for the adversary to target them,” he added.


The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the Pentagon is exploring plans for potential use of a Red Sea port and two additional Saudi airfields amid heightened tensions with Iran


The U.S. military has an array of bases in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf Arab states, many of which are bitter rivals of Iran.


Traditionally close U.S.-Saudi relations, while strong during the administration of President Donald Trump, are uncertain under new President Joe Biden, who is expected to take a harder line against human rights violations in the country.


Biden has also expressed a willingness to reengage with Tehran following Trump’s hard-line approach to Iran.


Meanwhile, McKenzie also said that Taliban militants were “clearly” responsible for a recent surge in violence in Afghanistan.


The Taliban has denied responsibility for the violence that has intensified as a U.S.-brokered peace deal with the Afghan government has stalled, blaming instead other Muslim extremist groups.


McKenzie, however, directly blamed the Taliban.


Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., commander of US Central Command, briefs reporters on the status of operations in the CENTCOM area of responsibility March 13, 2020. DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando.

“Certainly ISIS [the Islamic State militant group] has launched some attacks. It pales against what the Taliban is doing. It’s a combination of their countrywide attacks against the Afghan forces, their targeted assassinations in some of the urban areas,” McKenzie said.


“This is clearly the Taliban. There is no way it’s anyone else. That’s very clear,” he added.


Read Next: Taliban Bomb-Making Workshop Snafu Kills 30 Militants


“Violence is not directed at us or our coalition NATO friends, it is directed against the Afghan military and security forces and against the people as well. And that is principally coming from the Taliban,” he stressed to reporters.


During the Trump administration, U.S. negotiators struck a deal with the Taliban that called for U.S. troops to pull out of Afghanistan in the coming months in exchange for security guarantees from the militants, who have been fighting the Kabul government since their ouster from power by U.S.-led forces in 2001.


The Biden administration is reviewing the Taliban deal to determine if the militant group is meeting its commitments, including reaching a cease-fire and engaging in meaningful negotiations with the Afghan government.


NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance did not make a final decision on whether or when to withdraw troops out of Afghanistan during a virtual meeting on February 18.


Copyright (c)2020 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.



Coffee or Die
Coffee or Die

Coffee or Die is Black Rifle Coffee Company’s online lifestyle magazine. Launched in June 2018, the magazine covers a variety of topics that generally focus on the people, places, or things that are interesting, entertaining, or informative to America’s coffee drinkers — often going to dangerous or austere locations to report those stories.

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