US working with Saudi Arabia on strategic military plans, general says
The Biden administration is leveraging the Pentagon to quietly rebuild trust with Riyadh in the wake of a very public dispute.
American military officials have been working behind the scenes to help counterparts in Saudi Arabia lay out a long-term vision for the kingdom’s national security, even as ties between the two governments remain strained, a top US general revealed Thursday.
“The Saudis are very interested in strategic plans with us,” Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, top commander of US forces in the Middle East, told reporters via conference call.
“Our strategic planners travel to the kingdom regularly to work with Saudi military leaders to build up their ideas for a long-term strategic vision,” said Kurilla, who leads US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Saudi Arabia is also set to release a national defense strategy and a national military strategy next year for the first time in its history, he said, though CENTCOM did not assist in drafting those plans, another defense official clarified to Al-Monitor.
