The Saudis want us?

To the editor:

President Trump has said Saudi Arabia is paying the United States billions of dollars in return for thousands of American troops stationed there, among them an additional 3,000 since late 2019. He said the money is deposited into a special bank account.

Is this arrangement unremarkable? Is Congress supposed to approve of such an arrangement? How often have such arrangements been in effect?

Troops are ordinarily stationed at American bases in Saudi Arabia. Why did we have to send additional troops to a country as wealthy as Saudi Arabia?

Miriam Helbok

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