Bin Laden
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no content 9/18</font><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">There is still a window for the U.S. to damage al-Qaida’s alliances: It has a weak leader and major rival. But that window may be closing as the Islamic State </span><a href="https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2018/08/islamic-state-leader-downplays-territorial-losses-in-new-audio-message.php" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">adapts</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"> to its losses and al-Qaida appears poised for a </span><a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/resurgence-al-qaeda" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none">resurgence</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"> with </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/bin-ladens-son-steps-into-fathers-shoes-as-al-qaeda-attempts-a-comeback/2017/05/27/0c89ffc0-4198-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" none="none"><b>bin Laden’s son</b></a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"> as its future, more inspiring leader.</span></font></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">~ putin bounty $? plus bin laden win not real</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/bizarre-benghazi-conspiracy-theory-traveled-through-right-wing-echo-chamber"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/bizarre-benghazi-conspiracy-theory-traveled-through-right-wing-echo-chamber</font></a></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--stories-text paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="fancy-elems-wrapper field field--name-field-stories-text-formatted field--type-text-long field--label-hidden fielditem" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Over the last several days, a fringe right-wing narrative has been circulating alleging a secret plot among Obama administration officials and the CIA to protect Osama bin Laden and assassinate members of SEAL Team 6</b>. The claims appear to have originated at a conservative conference last weekend and quickly spread across the internet, reaching President Donald Trump by Tuesday evening when he retweeted an unverified account affiliated with QAnon. This conspiracy theory is not the first time that the president has amplified fringe, far-right accounts, but it shows the speed that such false and baseless claims can spread on social media through the web of far-right outlets and fringe conspiracy theorists.</font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A conservative conference legitimizes a wild, Benghazi-related conspiracy theory</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The claim seems to have originated from <a href="https://twitter.com/AMPFEST_USA" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">AmpFest 2020</a>, a conservative <b>conference hosted by <a href="https://americanpriority.com/about/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">American Priority</a> </b>and held in Miami during October 8-11</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Charles Woods, the father of a victim of the 2014 Benghazi attacks, and Nick Noe, a conservative activist who has repeatedly pushed </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_VQ0CP2S5U" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Benghazi</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> conspiracy theories, gave a presentation featuring an<b> interview with “whistleblower” Alan Howell Parrot, who claims to have worked for U.S. intelligence. Parrot alleges that the Obama administration made a $152 billion payout to Iran to cover up the truth about hiding bin Laden and the killing of SEAL Team 6 members.</b> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Similar conspiracy theories have circulated regarding the attacks and the Iran nuclear deal, and <a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/mar/17/donald-trump/no-donald-trump-we-are-not-giving-iran-150-billion/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Trump</a> even referenced some during the 2016 campaign. But all have been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-biden-navy-seal/false-claim-biden-revealed-identities-of-navy-seal-team-six-idUSKBN22W2AI" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">debunked</a>.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As The Daily Beast’s <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-touts-falconers-benghazi-blood-sacrifice-conspiracy-theory" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Will Sommer</a> explained:</font></p></div></div><blockquote class="block-quote block-quote--collapsable" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="block-quotequote" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding: 1.5rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Parrot claims that</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> Biden cut a deal with Iran to set up Bin Laden’s 2011 death in Pakistan. But when Iran double-crossed the United States and switched in a Bin Laden body double,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> in Parrot’s telling, Biden and Clinton arranged for a Navy SEAL helicopter to be shot down to keep the truth about the raid from getting out— a reference to a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Afghanistan_Boeing_Chinook_shootdown" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">real-world helicopter attack</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> in Afghanistan that killed 38 people, including 25 Navy SEALs.</span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(239, 243, 247); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><b><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“Vice President Biden paid with the blood of Seal Team 6,” Parrot said in the video. “He spent their blood like currency.”</font></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><b><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(239, 243, 247);">Later in the video, Noe claims that the Benghazi compound was attacked to cover up the fact that, supposedly, the missile used in the helicopter attack came from the United States.[</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">false flag?]</span></font></b></p><p style="background-color: rgb(239, 243, 247); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“It’s just so wicked,” Parrot said in the video, adding that he has “terabytes” of evidence to prove the conspiracy theory to Trump.</font></p></div></blockquote><div class="paragraph paragraph--type--stories-text paragraph--view-mode--editorial" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="fancy-elems-wrapper field field--name-field-stories-text-formatted field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The video clip containing the conspiracy theory appeared online</font></h3><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On October 11, conservative personality <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905631" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Anna Khait</a> tweeted about the presentation alongside a video clip of Parrot’s claims, which went viral and currently has 1.2 million views. The next day, Khait <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905636" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">tweeted</a> a YouTube interview with Noe, including the hashtags “#BenghaziAintGoingAway #BenghaziBombshell.” Khait also <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905646" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">tweeted</a> out a YouTube video of a panel interview with Woods and Noe at AmpFest. Both videos received hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. </font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">On October 12</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">, YouTube <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/google/youtube-made-money-videos-pushing-false-antifa-wildfires-claim" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">conspiracy</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/youtube-videos-falsely-claiming-masks-are-harmful-have-gotten-hundreds" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">theory</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/google/joe-biden-debate-conspiracy-theory-has-well-over-million-views-youtube-and-platform" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">channel</a></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">The Next News Network </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">also </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/google/youtube-keeps-allowing-verified-conspiracy-theory-channel-next-news-network-monetize" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">published</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> an interview with Khait on the new findings, which currently has nearly 2.9 million YouTube views. The story was further pushed by right-wing blog DJHJ Media’s </span><a href="https://djhjmedia.com/kari/explosive-cia-whistleblower-exposes-bidens-alleged-role-with-the-deaths-of-seal-team-claims-to-have-documented-proof/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&fbclid=IwAR09pmbmRIVmJonsEhmTCOM0kjRZU9wnATasz7D4oxKFcXvoSKRb1QmPCQs" rel="”nofollow”" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Kari Donovan</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, QAnon-adjacent YouTube channel </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905671" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">RedPill789</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and dubious Iranian blogger </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905681" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Heshmat Alavi</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, who was </span><a href="https://theintercept.com/2019/06/09/heshmat-alavi-fake-iran-mek/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">recently reported</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> by The Intercept as being a seemingly fake persona created by an Iranian opposition group. </span></font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The story circulated on right-wing YouTube, Twitter, and fringe blogs until Trump shared the post </font></h3><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On October 13, Donavan’s blog post was <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/10/14/trump-promotes-baseless-qanon-endorsed-conspiracy-theory-alleging-obama-staged-bin-ladens-killing/#22e57cf55b16" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">tweeted</a> by user @The171111 alongside the <a href="https://archive.fo/2jpDx#selection-3087.0-3087.53" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">claim</a> that “Hiden Biden and Obama may have had Seal Team 6 killed,” which was then retweeted by Trump. The account, which also reportedly pushed QAnon content, has since been suspended by Twitter. <a href="https://djhjmedia.com/kari/document-dump-cia-whistleblower-parrot-makes-good-on-promise-story-of-seal-team-6-and-bidens-alleged-involvement/" rel="”nofollow”" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Donovan</a> and <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905701" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Khait</a> both posted that Noe is releasing documents on Twitter that prove the conspiracy theory. <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905706" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Noe</a>, on his part, sent out a series of disjointed tweets which supposedly contain audio transcripts from Parrot.</font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Message boards and QAnon supporters picked up on the wild claims</font></h3><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Throughout Tuesday, the story continued to spread in the fringe far-right ecosystem; it was pushed by <b>QAnon influencer <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905711" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Praying Medic</a> </b>on Twitter, and <a href="https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/282417104/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">multiple</a> <a href="https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/282413714/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">large</a> <a href="https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/282421956/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">4chan</a> <a href="https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/282417223/" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">threads</a> on the far-right “politically incorrect” message board known as “/pol/.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">” </span></font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Former Navy SEAL </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905721" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Craig Sawyer</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> and Project Veritas “</span><a href="https://www.projectveritas.com/news/another-facebook-whistleblower-interference-on-a-global-level-in-elections/" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">whistleblower</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">” </span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905726" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Ryan Hartwig</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> both tweeted about the story. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905731" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney</a> tweeted a link to the Next News Network interview, </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">and QAnon account “</span><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905736" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 102); box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">Greg Rubini</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">” </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-- who is </span><a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/greg-rubini-twitter-account-palusa-revealed" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">actually</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> “Gregorio Palusa, a 61-year-old Italian sound engineer and marketer with no national security or intelligence credentials” <b>-- tweeted that he can “now officially confirm that Trump KNOWS: he has been informed of the whole thing, and given documents & files”; Rubini’s tweet got over 12,000 retweets and 26,000 likes.</b> </span></font></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>On October 14, Khait published two more <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905796" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">YouTube</a> <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905801" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">videos</a></b> claiming to have 2011 audio recordings from Parrot discussing the conspiracy with others. Far-right <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905746" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">accounts</a> and <a href="http://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/282481950" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">message boards</a> continued to push the story on Wednesday along with Trump’s amplification, which some took as <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3905751" style="box-sizing: border-box; background: transparent; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">proof</a> of the story. </font></p><h3 style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 1rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Hashtags helped the conspiracy theory spread between platforms </font></h3><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to individual accounts pushing the story, the following hashtags flooded social media with claims about the conspiracy theory: #BenghaziAintGoingAway, #SEALTeam6, #OsamaBinLaden, #BenghaziBombshell, #Benghazi, #SealTeamSix.</font></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This debacle is yet another example of the president of the United States promoting fringe conspiracy theories; Media Matters’ Alex Kaplan has found that Trump has <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/fbi-calls-qanon-domestic-terror-threat-trump-has-amplified-qanon-supporters-twitter-more-20" style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out 0s; text-decoration-line: none; box-shadow: rgba(25, 118, 210, 0.5) 0px -1px 0px inset;">promoted QAnon accounts</a> on Twitter over 200 times throughout his presidency.</font></span></p></div></div></div><div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">-----</font></div></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">tom 720</font></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/donald-trump-is-osama-bin-ladens-revenge">https://www.alternet.org/2020/07/donald-trump-is-osama-bin-ladens-revenge</a></span></div><div>
</div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/retired-us-navy-seal-who-oversaw-raid-that-killed-bin-laden-believes-the-us-must-move-forward-without-trump-and-he-isnt-alone/">https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/retired-us-navy-seal-who-oversaw-raid-that-killed-bin-laden-believes-the-us-must-move-forward-without-trump-and-he-isnt-alone/</a></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/this-will-end-badly-us-troops-are-back-in-saudi-arabia/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/this-will-end-badly-us-troops-are-back-in-saudi-arabia/</font></a></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">no lnx</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>This will end badly: US troops are back in Saudi Arabia</b></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Written by Danny Sjursen / Truthdig August 1, 2019</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It was big news. U.S. military forces streamed into Saudi Arabia in response to a supposedly serious threat to the kingdom’s eastern region. The American troops were invited by nervous Saudi royals; it wasn’t an American invasion per se. Everything unfolded smoothly at first; still, the consequences would be severe for the United States. Pick up the latest Military Times, or any other news source, and the story will seem recent, if not worthy of any special attention or alarm. Indeed, U.S. troops are headed into Saudi Arabia right now, but that’s not the situation described above.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>No, that happened in August 1990, in response to the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq—a nation, few remembered, that the U.S. had previously backed in its aggressive war with Iran (1980-88).</b> The kingdom then served as a launch point for the U.S.-led Persian Gulf War (1991) which drove the Iraqis from tiny Kuwait. American soldiers pulled out of Saudi Arabia just over a decade later, in 2003. Now they’re rolling back in. History, as it’s said to do, seems to be repeating itself.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">This time, however, the ostensible threat to Saudi Arabia comes from naughty Iran, the American national security state’s current favorite exaggerated villain. And, of course, Iran—unlike our onetime “partners” in Iraq—hasn’t invaded anybody. Thus, the U.S. troop infusion is more preemptive than reactive. It’s no matter; few Americans (or even most media/political elites) seem to notice.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Besides, what could go wrong? After all, the U.S. stations its military personnel all over the Middle East, so why not in “friendly” Saudi Arabia too? After all, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law in chief, maintains a well-known bromance with his pen pal, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and President Trump revels in the profits from massive arms sales to the kingdom. Still, the answer to the question is a stark one: Quite a lot can go wrong, actually. It has before.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sadly, given the apathy, short memory span and ignorance of much of the American populace, a brief (if dark) recent history lesson is in order. The year was, again, 1990. The Cold War was winding down; the U.S. confidently glowed in its new, powerful status as a unipolar hegemonic power. Except, Washington had set a few time bombs for itself—and boy would they explode.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>First, the U.S. government backed a megalomaniacal dictator in Iraq during his eight-year invasion of Iran. After that war ended in a draw, Saddam Hussein</b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">thought perhaps he’d test his American support and gobble up small, but oil-rich, Kuwait. When Riyadh panicked, feared for its own bordering oil fields and invited in the U.S. military, the Saudi royals angered and alienated the other significant American time bomb: <b>Osama bin Laden</b>—the wealthy Islamist Saudi jihadi that Washington had backed (during the 1980s) in his fight with the Soviets in Afghanistan.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">See, <b>bin Laden</b> <b>believed his own legend: </b>That his fellow foreign volunteers, known as “Afghan Arabs,” had turned the tide and driven the Soviets from Afghanistan. In reality, it was mostly native Afghan rebels, buoyed by generous American and Gulf States military aid, that had won the war—but that mattered little to bin Laden, the dogmatic, privileged son of a Saudi construction magnate. When Iraq swallowed Kuwait and threatened Saudi Arabia in 1990, the prodigal son offered to return, raise a new army of jihadis and defend the kingdom against Hussein’s forces. Rebuked by the Saudi king and overshadowed by the massive U.S. military, bin Laden developed a lifelong animus toward both the kingdom and America. The vendetta would prove extremely pivotal, a history-altering event.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After their swift victory in the Persian Gulf War, U.S. service members stuck around in Saudi Arabia for quite some time. It’s what the American empire does. Trouble was that not only Bin Laden, but an entire generation of Arab regional jihadis resented the U.S. military presence in the kingdom—especially in the vicinity of the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Nineteen American troops were killed in the 1996 terrorist bombing of the Air Force’s Khobar towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Not long after, in February 1998, America’s former “freedom fighter” bin Laden went so far as to declare war on the United States. The first of three justifications he listed involved the American military presence in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, he wrote:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Bin Laden was a veritable monster, but, well, he had a point.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The rest, as they say, was history. The bombing of two American embassies in Africa (1998), the bombing of the USS Cole at the port of Aden, in Yemen (2000), and, most tragically, the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Thousands of Americans died in the combined attacks; President Bush the Younger started a war that’s yet to end and can’t be won. It’s been going for nearly 18 years. The total cost (so far): 7,000 American troops dead, at least 244,000 foreign civilians killed and a cool $5.9 trillion in U.S. tax dollars wasted.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Perhaps American policymakers, pundits and the people at large ought to remember this tragic course of events, what the great author Chalmers Johnson referred to as “blowback.” If they did, it’d be clear that today’s fresh infusion of U.S. troops back into the vicinity of the Islamic holy places is a major event with potentially devastating consequences for the U.S. military—and perhaps even the American homeland.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It seems this latest move into Saudi Arabia is all risk and no reward. What can the U.S. possibly achieve in the kingdom: protecting a venal Saudi theocracy that can defend itself quite easily from the inflated threat of sanctions-laden Iran? The risks, on the other hand, are many, and bear striking resemblance to what did unfold the last time Washington thought it prudent to garrison Saudi Arabia.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Maybe the U.S. will get lucky and suffer only a few terror attacks on its troops in the kingdom. Then again, Washington might just blunder into an unnecessary, unwinnable, unethical war with the Islamic Republic of Iran, a nation of 80 million, and further destabilize an already precarious region. The nightmare, but totally possible, scenario would be the radicalization of new Saudi and transnational jihadis who then take the fight to New York or Los Angeles.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It’s happened before, back when America was far less unpopular in the Mideast and the Muslim world than it is today. Don’t count it out.</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Danny Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army major and regular contributor to Truthdig. His work has also appeared in Harper’s, The L.A. Times, The Nation, Tom Dispatch, The Huffington Post, and The Hill. He served combat tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at his alma mater, West Point. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, “Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge.” He co-hosts the progressive veterans’ podcast “Fortress on a Hill.” Follow him on Twitter at @SkepticalVet.</font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></span></div><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia</font></a></span></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">B<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">eginning during</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War#Operation_Desert_Shield" title="Gulf War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Operation Desert Shield</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">in August 1990, while preparing for the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War" title="Gulf War" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Gulf War</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States" title="United States" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">United States</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">sent a large troop contingent to</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Saudi Arabia</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. After the war, remnant troops, primarily</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Air_Force" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Air Force" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">U.S. Air Force</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">personnel, augmented by a smaller number of coordinating and training personnel from the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Navy" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Navy" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">U.S. Navy</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">,</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Army" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Army" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">U.S. Army</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Marine_Corps" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Marine Corps" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">U.S. Marine Corps</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">remained in Saudi Arabia under the aegis of</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joint_Task_Force_Southwest_Asia&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Joint Task Force Southwest Asia</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(JTF-SWA), as part of</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Southern_Watch" title="Operation Southern Watch" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Operation Southern Watch</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(OSW). The</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">United Kingdom</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">France</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">also maintained a small contingent of</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force" title="Royal Air Force" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Royal Air Force</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Air_Force" title="French Air Force" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">French Air Force</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">training personnel.</span></font></div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Operation Southern Watch patrolled by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S.Fifth_Fleet" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Fifth Fleet" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">U.S. Fifth Fleet</a>, based in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Bahrain</a> enforced the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_no-fly_zones" title="Iraqi no-fly zones" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Iraqi no-fly zones</a> over southern Iraq set up after 1991, and the country's oil exports through the shipping lanes of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Gulf" title="Persian Gulf" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Persian Gulf</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2003, the United States withdrew remaining non-training troops or armament purchase support from Saudi Arabia, with 200 of these support personnel remaining, primarily at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskan_Village" title="Eskan Village" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Eskan Village</a>, a base which is owned by the Saudi Arabian government itself, in support of the US Military Training Mission (USMTM) in Saudi Arabia and the US Office of Program Management for the Saudi Arabian National Guard (OPM-SANG).</font></p><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="direction: ltr; position: absolute; opacity: 0; z-index: -1; display: none;" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><h2 style="background: none; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: 0px; display: inline; line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Contents</font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></font></h2><span class="toctogglespan" style=""><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox" style="cursor: pointer;" /></span></div><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#Overview" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">1</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Overview</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#Withdrawal" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">2</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Withdrawal</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#Current_U.S.units" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">3</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">Current U.S. units</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">4</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">See also</span></font></a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><span class="tocnumber" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.5em;">5</span><span class="toctext" style="display: table-cell; text-decoration: inherit;">References</span></font></a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Overview">Overview</span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style=""><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Saudi Arabia</a> houses the holiest sites in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam" title="Islam" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Islam</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca" title="Mecca" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Mecca</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medina" title="Medina" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Medina</a>), a number of Muslims, including Bin Laden and his supporters, were outraged at the permanent presence of non-Muslim U.S., British and French military personnel. <b>The continued presence of U.S. troops after the Gulf War in Saudi Arabia was also one of the stated motivations behind the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11th_terrorist_attacks" class="mw-redirect" title="September 11th terrorist attacks" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">September 11th terrorist attacks</a></b><sup id="cite_ref-bbc_1-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-bbc-1" style="text-decoration-line: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><b>[</b>1]</a></sup> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khobar_Towers_bombing" title="Khobar Towers bombing" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Khobar Towers bombing</a>. The date of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_embassy_bombings" title="1998 United States embassy bombings" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">1998 United States embassy bombings</a> was eight years to the day (August 7) that American troops were sent to Saudi Arabia.</span><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><sup id="cite_ref-holywar-p3_3-0" class="reference" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-holywar-p3-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><b>Opinion polls conducted by Gallup from 2006–2008, found that many in Muslim majority countries strongly objected to U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia. </b>52% of Saudis agreed that removing military bases from Saudi Arabia would very significantly improve their opinion of the United States. Also, 60% of Egyptians, 39% of Jordanians, 40% of Syrians and Palestinians, 55% of Tunisians, 13% of Iranians, 29% of Turks, 40% of Lebanese, and 30% of Algerians gave that opinion, too.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The U.S. had rejected the characterization of its presence as an "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_occupation" title="Military occupation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">occupation</a>", noting that the government of Saudi Arabia consented to the presence of troops.</font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Withdrawal">Withdrawal</span></font></h2><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">On April 29, 2003, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld" title="Donald Rumsfeld" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Donald Rumsfeld</a> announced that he would be withdrawing remaining U.S. troops from the country. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Deputy_Secretary_of_Defense" title="United States Deputy Secretary of Defense" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Deputy Secretary of Defense</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wolfowitz" title="Paul Wolfowitz" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Paul Wolfowitz</a> had earlier said that the continuing large U.S. presence in the kingdom was putting American lives in danger. The announcement came one day after the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) was shifted from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sultan_Air_Base" title="Prince Sultan Air Base" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Prince Sultan Air Base</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Udeid_Air_Base" title="Al Udeid Air Base" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Al Udeid Air Base</a> in <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar" title="Qatar" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none;">Qatar</a>.</b></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Non-combat Defense assistance activities include <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Military_Training_Mission" title="United States Military Training Mission" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Military Training Mission</a> (USMTM) staff and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_Program_Manager,Saudi_Arabian_National_Guard_Modernization_Program" title="Office of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Office of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program</a> (OPM-SANG) at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskan_Village" title="Eskan Village" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Eskan Village</a>, a Saudi owned complex outside of Riyadh.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">U.S. officials transferred control of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sultan_Air_Base" title="Prince Sultan Air Base" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Prince Sultan Air Base</a> to Saudi officials at a ceremony on August 26, 2003. The base had been home to up to 60,000 US personnel at one time.</font></p><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="Current_U.S.units">Current U.S. units</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia&action=edit§ion=3" title="Edit section: Current U.S. units" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%23222%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Military_Training_Mission" title="United States Military Training Mission" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">United States Military Training Mission</a> Saudi Arabia (USMTM)</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_the_Program_Manager,Saudi_Arabian_National_Guard_Modernization_Program" title="Office of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Office of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program</a> (OPM-SANG)</font></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Office_of_the_Program_Manager-_Facilities_Security_Force&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Office of the Program Manager - Facilities Security Force (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Office of the Program Manager - Facilities Security Force</a> (OPM-FSF)</font></li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=United_States_withdrawal_from_Saudi_Arabia&action=edit§ion=4" title="Edit section: See also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" csvg="Csvg" width="%225%22" height="%2213%22%3E" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="%222.5%22" cy="%229%22" r="%222.5%22" fill="%22%23222%22/%3E" c="C" e="E" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="%22http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Arabia%E2%80%93United_States_relations" title="Saudi Arabia–United States relations" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Saudi Arabia–United States relations</font></a></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">===</font></span></div>