Saudi

[filthy_liar]

I spent some unwanted time at Eskan Village in Saudi.  Got to travel the country.  My opinion: overall shithole.  Arrogant incompetent assholes. Saw things I've never seen before: 18 wheelers laying sideways on the interstate with a billion coke cans strewn across all 8 lanes, dude driving 75mph with a camel in the back of a pickup truck, the Saudi sweep, etc.  Driving skills aside, interacting with them, they were arrogant assholes who sucked at whatever they did. I mean they are real assholes.  Going into the RSAF headquarters they treated you like you were laden with explosives, denied every overflight request going to OEF, denied an IFE 2 ship of dark grays to land in their territory, and generally treated me and everyone else that was not Saudi like shit.  

I don't understand how/why we gave them a pass for 9/11.  It definitely wasn't for the oil.  They were scared shitless of us not buying their oil, every conversation about overflights or maintenance on F-15s or AWACs devolved into an oil discussion.  As an old head trying to clean up 9/11, why didn't we do anything about Saudi?  Wasn't the vast proportion of terrorist attacks on American soil traced back to Saudis?

[HuggyU2]

They are the Keepers of the Two Holy Mosques. 
You are an infidel.  
That's how it works.

They are strategic partners, apparently. 
 

Questions?
 

[dream big]

5 hours ago, filthy_liar said:

I spent some unwanted time at Eskan Village in Saudi.  Got to travel the country.  My opinion: overall shithole.  Arrogant incompetent assholes. Saw things I've never seen before: 18 wheelers laying sideways on the interstate with a billion coke cans strewn across all 8 lanes, dude driving 75mph with a camel in the back of a pickup truck, the Saudi sweep, etc.  Driving skills aside, interacting with them, they were arrogant assholes who sucked at whatever they did. I mean they are real assholes.  Going into the RSAF headquarters they treated you like you were laden with explosives, denied every overflight request going to OEF, denied an IFE 2 ship of dark grays to land in their territory, and generally treated me and everyone else that was not Saudi like shit.  

I don't understand how/why we gave them a pass for 9/11.  It definitely wasn't for the oil.  They were scared shitless of us not buying their oil, every conversation about overflights or maintenance on F-15s or AWACs devolved into an oil discussion.  As an old head trying to clean up 9/11, why didn't we do anything about Saudi?  Wasn't the vast proportion of terrorist attacks on American soil traced back to Saudis?

You’ve clearly forgotten being hassled by Qatari Immigrant Agents at the Died 😉

But seriously all valid points. I never understood why we cow towed to the Saudis besides oil, and let their spoiled shitty pilot students waste our IPs time in UPT. My only other remaining theory is that we would need them (access, basing, overflight) if things ever kicked off with Iran?

[Clark Griswold]

We put up with their shit because we want the dollar to be the currency you pay for oil.  If the KSA said let's change that policy and the other OPEC members followed suit, we'd be screwed, it is the commodity that backs up the dollar.

They need us to stay in power, we need them to keep the dollar the petro-currency of the world.  

[Sim]

10 hours ago, filthy_liar said:

generally treated me and everyone else that was not Saudi like shit.  

 

If you actually understood their culture and found out what makes them tick, it would be much easier to get approvals to your requests. But we do not teach that before arriving on station and expecting "our way" to be their way as well.   

[herkbum]

If you actually understood their culture and found out what makes them tick, it would be much easier to get approvals to your requests. But we do not teach that before arriving on station and expecting "our way" to be their way as well.   

This is true with any country we operate in.


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[12xu2a3x3]

11 hours ago, filthy_liar said:

I spent some unwanted time at Eskan Village in Saudi.  Got to travel the country.  My opinion: overall shithole.  Arrogant incompetent assholes. Saw things I've never seen before: 18 wheelers laying sideways on the interstate with a billion coke cans strewn across all 8 lanes, dude driving 75mph with a camel in the back of a pickup truck, the Saudi sweep, etc.  Driving skills aside, interacting with them, they were arrogant assholes who sucked at whatever they did. I mean they are real assholes.  Going into the RSAF headquarters they treated you like you were laden with explosives, denied every overflight request going to OEF, denied an IFE 2 ship of dark grays to land in their territory, and generally treated me and everyone else that was not Saudi like shit.  

I don't understand how/why we gave them a pass for 9/11.  It definitely wasn't for the oil.  They were scared shitless of us not buying their oil, every conversation about overflights or maintenance on F-15s or AWACs devolved into an oil discussion.  As an old head trying to clean up 9/11, why didn't we do anything about Saudi?  Wasn't the vast proportion of terrorist attacks on American soil traced back to Saudis?

Thee Bitter Lake

[QAZqaz]

On 11/11/2022 at 6:38 AM, Sim said:

If you actually understood their culture and found out what makes them tick, it would be much easier to get approvals to your requests. But we do not teach that before arriving on station and expecting "our way" to be their way as well.   

I spent a lot of time as an adviser in Kuwait. I know what makes them tick, its avoiding work and passing off blame to other people when they are clearly responsible. Their "way" is doing as little as possible and wondering why nothing gets done. It also involves treating everyone as servants/slaves that are not their nationality. The original post is standard for the region, but I would bet Kuwait is the worst offender of them all. 

There were a handful of "good" ones I worked with but they got s*** on by all their leadership because they were trying to make a difference and change things for the better, which meant that the majority (bosses included) of them looked bad by comparison. 

[HossHarris]

Bah! 
 

a good ETSS guy could have that place untucked in a week!

 

(if you know … you know)

[hindsight2020]

Well, they're not playing very nice right now with their oil antics and the Russian shenanigans of 2022, so we're back to rubbing elbows with the Venezuelans. A good thing too from where I sit. A transactional alliance I prefer 6 days of the week and twice on Sunday. Of course, as a Caribbean Rim native, they're brothers from another mother, so I note my bias. 

Having to partake in flight training the Saudis has been the hardest Faustian bargain within my indentured service,  fortunately I was never faced with an invol oconus duty involving those fuckos, forcing me to show my cards. *knocks on wood* 

Edited November 30, 2022 by hindsight2020

[JBueno]

On 11/29/2022 at 4:48 PM, QAZqaz said:

I spent a lot of time as an adviser in Kuwait. I know what makes them tick, its avoiding work and passing off blame to other people when they are clearly responsible. Their "way" is doing as little as possible and wondering why nothing gets done. It also involves treating everyone as servants/slaves that are not their nationality. The original post is standard for the region, but I would bet Kuwait is the worst offender of them all. 

There were a handful of "good" ones I worked with but they got s*** on by all their leadership because they were trying to make a difference and change things for the better, which meant that the majority (bosses included) of them looked bad by comparison. 

Mohalab is the entire Kuwaiti experience. Asleep, useless, and mandatory.

[FourFans]

23 minutes ago, JBueno said:

Mohalab is the entire Kuwaiti experience. Asleep, useless, and mandatory.

US: Field in sight

Mohalab: No no no, I tell you when you have field in sight.

[DirkDiggler]

5 hours ago, JBueno said:

Mohalab is the entire Kuwaiti experience. Asleep, useless, and mandatory.

It’s Jabber now, same guy from what I can tell, super sleepy, and constantly irritated you’re interrupting his Kuwaiti soaps.

[uhhello]

Local pattern work at kuwait field.  Tower "callsign11 you go to far now you come back"  

We're in pattern as required "callsign 11 i dont like how you are flying, you go to far, you come back and go home"

 

[SurelySerious]

Local pattern work at kuwait field.  Tower "callsign11 you go to far now you come back"  
We're in pattern as required "callsign 11 i dont like how you are flying, you go to far, you come back and go home"
 

“There is traffic,Turn right, go east for a while and in shalla you will not crash.”
My favorite in Kuwait.

[JBueno]

“Tower we’d like to report a blue laser on   a four mile final.”

”Chrome, every kid in Kuwait has a blue laser. Cleared to land.”

Touché. 

[uhhello]

Crew:"Tower, headed out to Persian Gulf for water work, back in...."

Tower" "NEGATIVE, there is no Persian Gulf, you are going to Arabian gulf yes?"

Crew: "uh yeah, yup thats the one."

[Biff_T]

What will those nerds (Southwest Asia) do when the oil runs dry?  

[McJay Pilot]

Me: CS, request current weather at Kuwait International

ATC: ***confused Arabic background shouting on frequency***

Me: …

ATC: Sir, current weather is cloudy and rainy

Me: … Thanks

[filthy_liar]

On 11/11/2022 at 7:50 AM, Clark Griswold said:

We put up with their shit because we want the dollar to be the currency you pay for oil.  If the KSA said let's change that policy and the other OPEC members followed suit, we'd be screwed, it is the commodity that backs up the dollar.

They need us to stay in power, we need them to keep the dollar the petro-currency of the world.  

You think this is as relevant as it was a decade ago?  Maybe with the current admin, but when the don was at the helm, ppb dropped to the point that opec wasn't much of a thing.  Not gifting that to the don, only saying that there is relatively current precedent that opec can be sidelined.

[filthy_liar]

On 11/11/2022 at 2:57 AM, dream big said:

You’ve clearly forgotten being hassled by Qatari Immigrant Agents at the Died 😉

Welp, yes I did forget about that.  That sucked.  those assholes too and their shithole country.  

[filthy_liar]

On 11/11/2022 at 12:15 AM, HuggyU2 said:

They are the Keepers of the Two Holy Mosques. 
You are an infidel.  
That's how it works.

They are strategic partners, apparently. 
 

Questions?
 

A lot of questions, but understood.