By Dr Najah Al-Otaibi

Growing up inside a military compound in Dammam, the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, during the 1990 Gulf War, my earliest memories of geopolitics were visual and deeply reassuring.

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Why the West’s Desertion of Riyadh Makes an Israeli Alliance Inevitable

As the child of a high-ranking military officer, I remember looking out at the streets and seeing a massive contingent of American forces in their distinct combat uniforms. They were deployed as part of Operation Desert Shield—the massive U.S.-led military build-up and defensive operation running from 1990 to 1991—to protect the country. Their presence was heavily concentrated across the Eastern Province, explicitly shielding vital oil facilities and high-value energy hubs against Iraqi forces. This included Abqaiq, the world’s largest oil processing facility, and Ras Tanura, the world's largest offshore oil export port.

Having already crushed Kuwait in just two days, the military of Iraq’s late president, Saddam Hussein, stood directly on the Saudi border, poised to militarily seize our facilities and hold the global economy hostage. To a child, the ubiquitous presence of Western troops was simply part of the normal fabric of daily life during that war. To the world, it was the ultimate proof of an unshakeable reality: Saudi Arabia’s security was an absolute Western red line, and Washington was ready to deploy the full might of its military to shield us.

Today, more than 35 years later, the contrast between the protected world of my childhood and the reality I witness as an adult is staggering. The comforting American security blanket has vanished. Instead, I now watch Riyadh face an unprecedented barrage of ballistic missiles and drone warfare from Iran-backed Houthi militias. These strikes hit land-based oil infrastructure holding vast........

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