Iran in particular has long harangued the ruling Saud family for allowing infidel Americans in the holy land at all. The annual hajj pilgrimage, which this year begins in late March, attracts peaceful Muslims from around the world, but also serves as a convention of sorts for anti-American extremists. Security concerns keep the U.S. profile low. As a result of the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 U.S. servicemembers in Saudi Arabia, most troops are restricted to the base for their entire tours. Even though the city of Al Kharj is less than 20 miles from Prince Sultan Air Base, U.S. soldiers are a rare sight there.
Every car entering the American headquarters in Riyadh is searched inside, outside, and underneath.
Military cars that regularly leave the base have wire grating welded over their tailpipes so that no one can stuff explosives inside. Like neighboring Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is worried about a public backlash. One option might be to move aircraft from Prince Sultan Air Base to more-accommodating Kuwait. But stationing additional planes so close to Iraq makes U.S. military officials uncomfortable. The Navy does not have enough aircraft carriers to keep one, let alone the two here now, in the gulf permanently.