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U.S SECRET AIRBASE FOR DRONES REVEALED IN SAUDI ARABIA
February 6, 2013 - 15:17 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has been
operating a secret airbase for unmanned drones in Saudi Arabia for
the past two years, BBC News reported.
The facility was established to hunt for members of al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen. A drone flown from there
was used in September 2011 to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric
who was alleged to be AQAP's external operations chief.
U.S. media have known of its existence since then, but have not
reported it.
The U.S. military pulled out virtually all of its troops from Saudi
Arabia in 2003, having stationed between 5,000 and 10,000 troops in
the Gulf kingdom after the 1991 Gulf war. Only personnel from the
United States Military Training Mission (USMTM) officially remain.
Construction of the drone base was ordered after a December 2009
cruise missile strike in Yemen, according to the New York Times.
It was the first strike ordered by the Obama administration, and
ended in disaster, with dozens of civilians, including women and
children killed.
U.S. officials told the newspaper that the first time the CIA used
the secret facility was to kill Awlaki. Since then, the CIA has been
"given the mission of hunting and killing 'high-value targets' in
Yemen" - the leaders of AQAP who government lawyers had determined
posed a direct threat to the US - the officials added.
Drones can reportedly carry out strikes without the permission of
Yemen's government.
The Washington Post reported that President Barak Obama's
counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, a former CIA station chief
in Saudi Arabia, played a key role in negotiations with the government
in Riyadh over building the drone base.
Saudi Arabia is home to some of Islam's holiest sites and the
deployment of U.S. forces there was seen as a historic betrayal by
many Islamists, notably the late leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.
It was one of the main reasons given by the Saudi-born militant to
justify violence against the U.S. and its allies.
From: A. Papazian
February 6, 2013 - 15:17 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has been
operating a secret airbase for unmanned drones in Saudi Arabia for
the past two years, BBC News reported.
The facility was established to hunt for members of al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula, which is based in Yemen. A drone flown from there
was used in September 2011 to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born cleric
who was alleged to be AQAP's external operations chief.
U.S. media have known of its existence since then, but have not
reported it.
The U.S. military pulled out virtually all of its troops from Saudi
Arabia in 2003, having stationed between 5,000 and 10,000 troops in
the Gulf kingdom after the 1991 Gulf war. Only personnel from the
United States Military Training Mission (USMTM) officially remain.
Construction of the drone base was ordered after a December 2009
cruise missile strike in Yemen, according to the New York Times.
It was the first strike ordered by the Obama administration, and
ended in disaster, with dozens of civilians, including women and
children killed.
U.S. officials told the newspaper that the first time the CIA used
the secret facility was to kill Awlaki. Since then, the CIA has been
"given the mission of hunting and killing 'high-value targets' in
Yemen" - the leaders of AQAP who government lawyers had determined
posed a direct threat to the US - the officials added.
Drones can reportedly carry out strikes without the permission of
Yemen's government.
The Washington Post reported that President Barak Obama's
counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, a former CIA station chief
in Saudi Arabia, played a key role in negotiations with the government
in Riyadh over building the drone base.
Saudi Arabia is home to some of Islam's holiest sites and the
deployment of U.S. forces there was seen as a historic betrayal by
many Islamists, notably the late leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden.
It was one of the main reasons given by the Saudi-born militant to
justify violence against the U.S. and its allies.
From: A. Papazian