23.03.2011, 23:08
Zitat:America's Saudi air war<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/2011316131230188238.html">http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/fe ... 88238.html</a><!-- m -->
A plan to train Saudi air force pilots in Idaho is turning former allies into bitter enemies.
Nick Turse Last Modified: 19 Mar 2011 17:10
On the morning of September 11, 2001, a Saudi pilot trained to fly in the US slammed a Boeing 757 jetliner into the Pentagon, killing more than 180 people.
Less than a decade later, with the Middle East in a state of upheaval and following the recent arrest of a Saudi college student on bomb charges, the Pentagon is planning to bring dozens of Saudis to the US to train them to fly - and to kill.
Last year, when moderate Muslims announced plans to build a community centre in Lower Manhattan, it created a firestorm as Republican politicians, conservative pundits, right-wing websites and survivors of September 11 lined up to assail the "Ground Zero Mosque".
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Last December, amid the holiday rush, the US air force quietly announced that it had selected Mountain Home Air Force Base as the preferred location for the long-term training of a contingent of pilots and flight crews from the Saudi Royal Air Force as part of a $60bn arms deal between the US and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced that autumn.
Under the mammoth military package, Saudi Arabia is set to receive 84 new F-15E Strike Eagles - advanced fighter aircraft designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions. Capable of flying day or night in all weather conditions and reaching speeds in excess of twice the speed of sound, each F-15, packing missiles, bombs and a 20mm cannon, is a formidable weapon.
Under the air force's proposal, Saudi pilots will learn how to fly the advanced fighters at Mountain Home Air Force Base for five years, from 2014 to 2019, with the possibility of a longer commitment left open.
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With skepticism and outrage over the training of Saudi airmen at Mountain Home Air Force Base now rising from the very constituencies that concerned Risch and Simpson during the 2010 Islamic cultural centre controversy, the stage is set for a showdown between former allies.
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