After reports that Washington withdrew its forces and defense systems ... is Saudi Arabia heading to internationalize its protection?

Mohammed Al-Minshawi-Washington

The implicit admission of the Pentagon to the authenticity of reports that Washington intends to withdraw Patriot batteries, fighters and soldiers from Saudi Arabia did not come as a surprise to many experts whom Al Jazeera Net spoke to in the American capital.

US military officials had told the Wall Street Journal that Washington was considering "reducing other military capabilities, which would end the large-scale military build-up it had taken to confront Iran," and they also indicated that the Trump administration was looking to reduce the US naval presence in the Gulf region.

Military expert David de Roche, a former warrior and assistant professor at the Center for Near East and South Asia at the US National Defense University - told Al-Jazeera Net - he did not consider that "this measure is important in and of itself. Washington has forces and equipment abroad on temporary, specific missions, some believe that they should remain forever, and we must not ignore the fact that the United States has a military presence in all parts of the world.

"The Pentagon and the White House have decided that there is a retreat in the threat posed by Iran, which justifies dismantling and withdrawing the missile system," said former US official Charles Dunn, now a researcher at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

Charles Dunn, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, answered a question about the relationship of the US move with Washington's relations with Tehran, saying that "there are no confirmed signs of significant changes in the nature of Washington's relations with Tehran, but it seems that they are generally improving in the recent period."

The sending of American forces to Saudi Arabia following the Aramco attacks was aimed at sending a message to Iran that no further attacks on targets inside Saudi Arabia could be accepted, according to the researcher at the new US security center in Washington, Nicholas Heras.

For his part, President Trump responded to a question regarding the withdrawal of the US missile defense system, Patriot, from Saudi Arabia, saying, "I do not want to talk about that," but he added, "There are moves of our forces in the Middle East and the world."

Trump added that the United States is defending many countries and many of them do not appreciate it, but he stressed that this matter does not apply to Saudi Arabia, noting that it agreed to bear some expenses. 

Internationalizing the protection of Saudi Arabia
. Thousands of American soldiers were deployed in Saudi Arabia after the attacks of last summer, hitting targets inside the Saudi rear of Aramco.

The US forces have worked with their Saudi counterpart, which also has Patriot air defense missile systems. De Roche, the military expert, confirmed to Al-Jazeera Net that "Saudi Arabia has a Patriot missile defense system that works efficiently, and they have dropped large numbers of attacking missiles from Yemen."

However, de Roche indicated that what deserves attention is not the withdrawal of American forces, but rather what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to internationalize its protection.

"We should pay attention, perhaps, to Greece sending Patriot missile defense systems and military elements to operate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia soon, which will be an important step towards internationalizing the protection of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," de Roche told Al Jazeera Net.

The government of Greece announced before the end of last year that it would send some Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia to protect vital infrastructure in the energy field, with about 130 Greek military personnel heading to the Kingdom to operate and maintain the defense system.

News reports indicated that Riyadh will bear the material costs of these moves, while other reports have indicated that Italy may also participate in this program.