Saudis Expelled From US Had Connections To Extremist Groups, Child Porn

The American relationship with Saudi Arabia has been problematic since 9-11.

Yes, they are an energy supplier to this country and our allies. But fifteen of the nineteen 9-11 hijackers were from the desert kingdom. And the U.S. is on the very edge of complete and long term energy independence.

Riyadh is the sworn enemy of Iran and cultivates its image as a moderate Arab state. Yet the House of Saud finances radical Wahhabi mosques all over the world in a bid to buy off the hardline Islamists. The U.S., and especially the Trump administration, has taken note.

Related: Naval Ensign ‘Died a Hero’: Annapolis Is Mourning Its Tremendous Loss

So Saudi influence has begun to wane. The expulsion on Saturday of 21 Saudi trainee pilots from our air combat training facility in Pensacola, FL can only expedite that process. This comes after the attack last month at Pensacola by a Saudi trainee pilot on U.S. personnel that killed three and wounded eight.

The 21 were expelled for having ties to radical Islamist groups and having possession of child porn, according to U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr.

The Pentagon had this to say, “In the wake of the Pensacola tragedy, the Department of Defense restricted to classroom training programs foreign military students from Saudi Arabia while we conducted a review and enhancement of our foreign student vetting procedures,” said Lt. Col. Robert Carver, a spokesman. “That training pause is still in place while we implement new screening and security measures.”

Related: Pensacola Navy Aviators Demand to be Armed in Wake of Terror Activity

As a result of that review, the 21 Saudis are history.

Attorney General Bill Barr Monday officially classified the December attack by one of those trainees on U.S. personnel as “an act of terrorism.” Thus Saudi personnel will henceforth be under close scrutiny when they work with our military on U.S. soil and elsewhere.

That is a much-needed change for the better.