US Aircraft in Saudi Arabia: A Familiar Farce for War Profiteers
The story beneath the story: those satellite images showing US military aircraft. KC-135 Stratotankers, B-52 strategic bombers, and F-22 Raptors. at Saudi Arabia's King Khalid Air Base are not about deterring mythical threats. This is a recurring episode in a long-running series, meticulously scripted by the military-industrial complex and eagerly funded by Riyadh's oil wealth. The Independent
reports the deployment coincides with heightened tensions with Iran, a convenient narrative for a cycle of perpetual arms sales and strategic positioning that has defined US foreign policy in the region for decades. It's a lucrative arrangement, one where manufactured crises translate directly into hefty contracts for Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. Consider, for a moment, the historical backdrop.
In 1980, President Carter formally articulated the Carter Doctrine, declaring that any attempt by an outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region would be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States. This declaration cemented the rationale for persistent US military presence, ostensibly to secure oil flows, but in practice, it underwrote a vast network of
military bases and partnerships that serves to underwrite the profits of arms manufacturers and bolster US geopolitical dominance. Saudi Arabia alone received over $100 billion in US arms between 2010 and 2020. This latest deployment is simply another invoice in an endless cascade, ensuring that while the rhetoric focuses on national security, the dividends are shared among a select few with