4 ms·

a lot of people in this comment section seem kind of confused about the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia? This isn't at all surprising, why wouldn'

a lot of people in this comment section seem kind of confused about the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia? This isn't at all surprising, why wouldn't you hire American military to go with your American military hardware?

sschueller 4y ago
Because the United States should not be involved in invoking terror on the Yemenese population.
- BrandoElFollito 4y ago
  Why selling them weapons then? Except if they were intended for gardening and what we have here - an obvious breach of TOS.
- stormbrew 4y ago
  I mean, I agree! But it is, and this specific thing is only part of that.
- josefresco 4y ago
  > invoking terror on the Yemenese population To clarify the US is invoking terror on the Yemeni Iranian proxy forces and therefore the population.
warner25 4y ago
Not only that, we have active duty American service members stationed in Saudi Arabia working as instructors and advisors on how to maintain and employ that hardware. Saudi pilots are routinely trained at American military flight schools like Fort Rucker and NAS Pensacola. The performance of these Saudi student pilots is usually terrible[1], by the way, to the point that it's a running joke in the American military aviation community. This is probably because their officers are selected based on having royal blood, not based on merit, whereas getting into flight school is highly competitive for Americans. I'm told that Saudi Arabia pays a lot of money to send these guys for training, so instructors aren't allowed to fail them. Basically, the instructors pencil-whip their progress and let them graduate, but then Saudi Arabia seems to really need some experienced Americans on-hand to keep things from going off the rails. [1] I was paired with a Saudi during flight school. For example, all students had to score 100% on a written test on aircraft limits and emergency procedures before ever getting into the cockpit. American students would get a second chance if they got one or two questions wrong, but that was rare and embarrassing, and there would be no third chance. My Saudi partner, on the other hand, scored something like 16% on his first attempt and then received five or six more chances. When we actually got into the air, he wasn't much better. During the first week, I approached my commander and told him that I was uncomfortable flying with this guy, but he assured me that our instructors dealt with this situation all the time and knew how to manage it safely. Later in my career, I saw a bit of what happens behind the scenes and learned that cheating among Saudi students was also rampant and effectively allowed to continue.
yucky 4y ago
It's not confusion, it's disgust. Everybody understands that Saudi's are the leading exporters of terrorism and the US helps enable that terrorism with our money and intel. Then we condemn Putin and expect the entire world to take it seriously.

sschueller 4y ago

Because the United States should not be involved in invoking terror on the Yemenese population.

BrandoElFollito 4y ago
Why selling them weapons then? Except if they were intended for gardening and what we have here - an obvious breach of TOS.
stormbrew 4y ago
I mean, I agree! But it is, and this specific thing is only part of that.
josefresco 4y ago
> invoking terror on the Yemenese population To clarify the US is invoking terror on the Yemeni Iranian proxy forces and therefore the population.

warner25 4y ago

Not only that, we have active duty American service members stationed in Saudi Arabia working as instructors and advisors on how to maintain and employ that hardware. Saudi pilots are routinely trained at American military flight schools like Fort Rucker and NAS Pensacola. The performance of these Saudi student pilots is usually terrible[1], by the way, to the point that it's a running joke in the American military aviation community. This is probably because their officers are selected based on having royal blood, not based on merit, whereas getting into flight school is highly competitive for Americans. I'm told that Saudi Arabia pays a lot of money to send these guys for training, so instructors aren't allowed to fail them. Basically, the instructors pencil-whip their progress and let them graduate, but then Saudi Arabia seems to really need some experienced Americans on-hand to keep things from going off the rails. [1] I was paired with a Saudi during flight school. For example, all students had to score 100% on a written test on aircraft limits and emergency procedures before ever getting into the cockpit. American students would get a second chance if they got one or two questions wrong, but that was rare and embarrassing, and there would be no third chance. My Saudi partner, on the other hand, scored something like 16% on his first attempt and then received five or six more chances. When we actually got into the air, he wasn't much better. During the first week, I approached my commander and told him that I was uncomfortable flying with this guy, but he assured me that our instructors dealt with this situation all the time and knew how to manage it safely. Later in my career, I saw a bit of what happens behind the scenes and learned that cheating among Saudi students was also rampant and effectively allowed to continue.

yucky 4y ago

It's not confusion, it's disgust. Everybody understands that Saudi's are the leading exporters of terrorism and the US helps enable that terrorism with our money and intel. Then we condemn Putin and expect the entire world to take it seriously.