Stardate 20011013.0715 (On Screen): Iain asks why we have troops in Saudi Arabia. He describes them as "sitting duck targets". Actually, that is precisely why they are there. The point is that if Iraq were to attack Saudi territory, our people would try to fight, maybe not succeed, and possibly suffer great casualties. This then would give the government an excuse to reinforce the place with further American troops. They're there for the same reason our forces are in Korea: so that an attack in that location can't
not involve the US. If North Korea attacks the South, they necessarily must fight the Second Armored Division -- who may win or may not, but will certainly then be reinforced.
But the troops in Saudi Arabia (and in Kuwait) are doing other things. We have prepositioned a great deal of materiel, especially tanks and IFVs, in those areas. The troops who are there are, among other things, guarding them and also doing the routine maintenance on them which is necessary to keep them ready for use. Equpment like that degrades with time and even when it's sitting unused it requires routine maintenance. The reason that stuff is there is so that the next time we have to fight (if there is one) it won't take as long to get back up to fighting strength. Men can be brought in by air, but that kind of materiel has to come by ship if you need it in quantity. Last time it took six months to build up; next time it will be much quicker because much of what we need is already in place. (discuss)
