U.S. Forces Return to Saudi Arabia to Deter Attacks by Iran by Jared Malsin – Wall Street Journal
PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia—Nearly 17 years after U.S. troops largely pulled up stakes from the kingdom, the U.S. is now back in force.
Here in a base of tents in the desert about 60 miles southeast of Riyadh, some 2,500 U.S. military personnel are launching F-15 fighter jets in soaring arcs overhead and manning Patriot missile batteries in shifts. Or they play chess and video games to pass the hours, with an NFL-themed video game splashed on a flat-screen TV inside a recreation tent.
The return of the U.S. troops—after maintaining a much smaller footprint for nearly two decades—reflects the alarm of Saudi and American leaders at the current threat posed by another regional power: Iran…