US Orders Diplomats, Families to Leave Saudi Arabia
The Facts
- The U.S. State Department ordered non-emergency government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, citing Houthi attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure.
- A diplomatic source told AFP that families of U.S. embassy staff were also being withdrawn from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain. However, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott called reports of wider Gulf departures "inaccurate," saying the order covered Saudi Arabia only.
- Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert Wednesday about possible further Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, following recent deadly strikes that included one on Riyadh's international airport, the kingdom's deadliest in years.
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The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Striking civilian airports and critical infrastructure is terrorism, and the Iranian-backed Houthis have made clear that no one in the kingdom is safe. Pulling nonessential staff and families out of harm's way is simple prudence when missiles and drones can shut down an international airport without warning. No diplomatic posting is worth gambling with the lives of American families.
Anti-Trump narrative
The evacuation order is the bill coming due for a war of choice that was supposed to end Iran's reach and instead expanded it. Cheap drones and mines now hold the world's energy lifeline hostage, and Gulf partners have become targets precisely because of the American bases built to deter attacks. Security guarantees that cannot keep a capital's airport open are not guarantees at all.
