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.

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.

Gas prices in the United States have been on the decline after peaking at an average of more than $5 per gallon over the summer, a spike attributed in part to sanctions on Russian oil levied in response to its invasion of Ukraine. The OPEC decision has raised fears in the United States that gas prices will tick up again, with GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan predicting a roughly 15 to 30 cent per gallon increase.

The bill from the House Democrats, dubbed the "Strained Partnership Act," would require removing all U.S. forces and equipment from Saudi Arabia and the UAE within 90 days of its passage. The missile defense systems would be relocated to elsewhere in the Middle East "with the priority mission of protecting United States Armed Forces," according to the bill text.

"It is time for the United States to resume acting like the superpower in our relationship with our client states in the Gulf," the three lawmakers said in their statement. "They have made a choice and should live with the consequences. Our troops and military equipment are needed elsewhere."

Their bill is similar to one Senate Republicans introduced in 2020 when the Trump administration was trying to pressure Saudi Arabia over oil production.

OPEC decision to cut production came after President Joe Biden -- who during his presidential campaign vowed to turn Saudi Arabia into a "pariah" over its killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi -- sought to mend ties in an effort to convince the kingdom to boost oil production to offset the effects of the war in Ukraine. He took a trip to Riyadh in July that included a fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"Many argued that we had to 'repair' our relationship with our Gulf partners to win their cooperation in stabilizing global energy markets following Russia's invasion, and President Biden made every effort to do so, going so far as to meet the Saudi Crown Prince personally in Riyadh, despite his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Malinowski, Casten and Wild said in their statement. "Saudi Arabia and the UAE have now answered our overtures with a slap in the face that will hurt American consumers and undermine our national interests."

In addition to the House bill, several Senate Democrats have also called for a reevaluation of U.S.-Saudi ties in the wake of the OPEC move, including the chamber's No. 2 Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, saying it's "time for our foreign policy to imagine a world without their alliance."

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/10/06/oil-dispute-prompts-call-remove-us-troops-saudi-arabia-uae.html

perez100:
Arewa: - We want you Peter Obi to condemn E S N

Peter Obi: - The Government of Eastern States formed E.S.N and since Governors can form security outfit - how can I condemn it?

What is E.S.N : - Ebubeagu Security Network. Who actually formed it? The Eastern States Government formed it

Is Peter Obi right? Peter Obi is 100% right

Peter Obi is very smart and brilliant.

GREATIGBOMAN:
USA just wants to meddle in everything

seunny4lif:
USA will never withdraw from Gulf nations, never because they know that if they do that, Saudi don’t have another option than to settle with Iran, which is something USA will never allow or Saudi will develop nuke weapons which is a great security risk to Israel, forget all those Israel and Saudi peace talk fast fast.

NK have shown the world that if you have nukes then your security is granted

Syria war showed Saudi that.

akwesenana:
Welcome to the bipolar world.

One side is supposedly democratic but with ulterior motives. The other side no the hide their totalitarianism.

Owen247:


guy!! If dem try am, na dem go loose oh!

iran backed houthis against saudi and uae, n inbtw these nations is russia working wit all of them. Why dnt they think russia can convince iran to halt houthis arms fund against the saudis?
Thereby creating peace in the gulf.

what if dis withdrawal prompts these gulf states to get nukes?

what if the saudis stop trading wit usd in retaliation?

and also this withdrawal wil prove alot that the usa is not a reliable security provider. Afgan comes to mind.

potential lose of weapons buyers ...

HornyTave:
US/NATO failed to remove Bashir Assad and after His gov't became strenghtened when Putin came to his aid, most gov't realised US/NATO are parasites who can't bite much. The fightings in Ukraine only revealed the west are not true allies. if America leaves, Russia would fill in the space.

fortunez1:
saying shits because u don't understand diplomacy and so u expect NATO to engage Russia directly unprovoked. Get some brains because things don't work that way or else Ukrainians should have been insulting the NATO by now but they aren't doing so because they understand better hence they are grateful.

joyandfaith:
Middle east is about to be exploded. Eastern europe is already burning courtesy of Russia. Welcome to multipolar world and cold war 2.0. After the storm, peace then end shall come.

DerrickzB:


America and Nato has been in the Middle East all this while, and that place hasn’t known peace!! I wonder how you calling Russia over that!! I wonder!!

joyandfaith:


Read with understanding.

DerrickzB:


Speak with knowledge…