I'm thinking this is to make Iran and Russia think twice about going further than Syria in their military moves (or at least just Syria and possibly Iraq). But, I don't think Russia would go into Iraq because that is U.S. and Iran territory. This would be a natural Cold War rule from the old days. This is also the same reason there are no U.S. troops on the ground (except Special forces against ISIS) now in Syria also.
20 nations join major military manoeuvre in Saudi
AFP 8 hours ago
Riyadh (AFP) - Armed forces from around 20 countries
were gathering in northern Saudi Arabia Sunday for "the most important"
military manoeuvre ever staged in the region, the official news agency
SPA reported.The "Thunder of the North" exercise involving ground, air, and naval forces sends a "clear message" that Riyadh and its allies "stand united in confronting all challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region", SPA said.
Saudi Arabia is currently leading a military campaign against Iran-backed rebels in its southern neighbour Yemen. Last December, it also formed a new 35-member coalition to fight "terrorism" in Islamic countries.
Sunday's announcement also comes as the kingdom, a member of the US-led coalition targeting the jihadist Islamic State group, said it has deployed warplanes to a Turkish air base in order to "intensify" its operations against IS in Syria.
SPA did not specify when the military exercise will begin or how long it will last.
However, the agency called it the "most important and largest in the region's history" in terms of the number of nations taking part and the weaponry being used.
Twenty countries will be taking take part, SPA said.
Among them are Saudi Arabia's five partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Chad, Egypt, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Senegal and Tunisia, it added.
A Saudi source said on Thursday that members of the new "anti-terrorism" coalition will gather in Saudi Arabia next month for its first publicly announced meeting.
Riyadh has said the alliance would share intelligence, combat violent ideology and deploy troops if necessary.
end quote from:
20 nations join major military manoeuvre in Saudi
Armed
forces from around 20 countries were gathering in northern Saudi Arabia
Sunday for "the most important" military manoeuvre ever staged in the
region, the official news agency SPA reported. The "Thunder of the
North" exercise involving ground, air, and naval forces sends a "clear
message" that Riyadh and its allies "stand united in confronting all
challenges and preserving peace and stability in the region", SPA said.
Saudi Arabia is currently leading a military campaign against
Iran-backed rebels in its southern neighbour Yemen.
AFP
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