Saudi Arabia wants the United States to show that Washington is committed to the kingdom, and that means leaving American defense teams in Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki Al-Faisal told CNBC.
He responded to a question about what the U.S. Middle East needs after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
“I think we need to be reassured about the American commitment,” the prince, the former head of intelligence for Saudi Arabia, told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble last month.
“This seems, for example, not to withdraw Patriot missiles from Saudi Arabia at a time when Saudi Arabia is the victim of missile attacks and drone attacks, not only from Yemen, but from Iran,” he said.
The U.S. increased its military presence in Saudi Arabia in 2019, deploying two Patriot missile artillery batteries following attacks on the country’s oil facilities. Washington blamed Iran for the strikes, although Tehran has denied the allegations.
In June this year, several media outlets reported that the Pentagon decided to withdraw air defense resources from the Middle East, including Patriot missile batteries.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal speaks on stage during the 2015 Concordia Summit at Grand Hyatt New York on October 2, 2015 in New York.
Leigh Vogel | Getty Images for the Concordia Summit
Removing Patriot missiles from the kingdom “is not indicative of the stated intention of the United States to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against external enemies,” Al-Faisal said, adding that he expects the U.S. to give guarantees of their commitment to deploy “whatever is necessary” for help.
Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia would prefer U.S. assistance, but sought “other support” to bolster its air defenses against Iranian and Houthis attacks on Yemen.
The kingdom said it intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile and armed drones that were fired on Saturday.
A Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 and has continued to fight in what is seen as a power war with Iran.
Al-Faisal said the US should seriously consider support for the Middle East now, especially after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the ongoing crisis in Kabul.
Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, wrote in an opinion to CNBC that the situation in Afghanistan threatens the narrative of US President Joe Biden, according to whom Washington is “once again an ally and a trusted partner, after the uncertainties that grew between them during the Trump Administration. “
Biden was criticized for Washington’s treatment of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, but was behind his decision.
Prince Turki said that beyond Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf states are “equally vulnerable” and that the US should consider reassuring the Middle East that it can be trusted.
“If the Biden administration gets to that, I have no idea,” he said.
Documents of the Eleventh of September
Separately, U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered the widespread declassification of documents relating to the September 11, 2001. attacks. In an executive order signed on September 3, Biden said the information should only remain classified if its publication would pose a clear threat to national security.
The families of the victims believe the documents may contain details involving Saudi leaders.
The kingdom’s embassy in the United States on Wednesday said Saudi Arabia has constantly called for the release of all research material and welcomes the release of the documents.
The statement added that any allegation that Saudi Arabia was “complicit in the 9/11 attacks is categorically false.”
“Saudi Arabia can only reiterate its long-standing support for the complete declassification of any documents and material related to the investigation of U.S. terrorist attacks, in the hope that a full release of those documents will end the allegations. unfounded against the Kingdom once and for all, ”he said.
If there are still documents in the U.S. archives that have not been made public, I think they should be published because there will be nothing.
Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal
Family members of 9/11 victims stated in an August statement that since the conclusion of the 9/11 Commission in 2004, many pieces of investigative evidence involving officials have been discovered. of the Saudi government to support the attacks, according to NBC News.
Most of the kidnappers were from Saudi Arabia and, according to previous reports, Saudi citizens funded al-Qaeda. The government has denied the connection to the attacks.
Prince Turki, in August, said Saudi Arabia “has never hidden anything” since 9/11.
“If there are still documents in the U.S. archives that have not been made public, I think they should be published because there will be nothing,” he said, adding that the kingdom did its own research and ” found absolutely nothing “.
– CNBC’s Christina Wilkie and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.