Mereja.Forum

[Halafi Mengedi]

Rebecca Kheel

October 6, 2022, 10:17 AM·4 min read

Tom Malinowski

American diplomat and politician

A trio of Democratic lawmakers wants to pull all U.S. troops out of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after an alliance of oil-producing countries announced it was slashing production, a move which is expected to drive up U.S. gas prices.

Democratic Reps. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, a former State Department official in the Obama administration; Sean Casten of Illinois; and Susan Wild of Pennsylvania announced Wednesday night they were introducing a bill to remove all U.S. forces and military equipment from the two oil-rich nations.

"Saudi Arabia and the UAE's drastic cut in oil production, despite President Biden's overtures to both countries in recent months, is a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine," the lawmakers said in a statement.

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"Both countries have long relied on an American military presence in the Gulf to protect their security and oil fields. We see no reason why American troops and contractors should continue to provide this service to countries that are actively working against us," they added. "If Saudi Arabia and the UAE want to help [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, they should look to him for their defense."

The United States has about 3,000 troops in Saudi Arabia and 2,000 in the UAE, numbers that have been boosted in recent years to help protect those countries from missile strikes by Iran-backed rebels in Yemen. The U.S. military presence also includes Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense systems.

On Wednesday, OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other aligned oil-producing nations including Russia, announced it would reduce oil production by 2 million barrels a day. Saudi Arabia is considered the de facto leader of the organization.

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