HeyBub wrote:

It wasn't the taliban that "wreaked" havoc on 9/11.

It was 19 Saudis.

Yet you had thousands of troops in Saudi Arabia at the time, and
for a decade prior. That didn't seem to help anything.

Correction: We had NO troops in Saudi Arabia (except for the Marine
Guard at the consulates and embassy and a handful of military
trainers) prior to 9/11. We have none now.

Here is where I prove you wrong:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...m_Saudi_Arabia

===============
Beginning during Operation Desert Shield in August 1990, while preparing
for the Gulf War, the United States sent a troop contingent to Saudi
Arabia. After the war, the troops remained, under Operation Southern
Watch.

Since Saudi Arabia houses the holiest sites in Islam (Mecca and Medina)
— many Muslims were upset at the permanent military presence. The
continued presence of US troops after the Gulf War in Saudi Arabia was
one of the stated motivations behind the September 11th terrorist
attacks[1] and the Khobar Towers bombing. The date of the 1998 United
States embassy bombings was eight years to the day (August 7) that
American troops were sent to Saudi Arabia.[2] Bin Laden interpreted the
Prophet Muhammad as banning the "permanent presence of infidels in
Arabia".[3]

On April 29, 2003, Donald Rumsfeld announced that he would be
withdrawing US troops from the country stating that the Iraq War no
longer required the support. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz
had earlier said that the continuing US presence in the kingdom was
putting American lives in danger. The announcement came one day after
the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) was shifted from Prince Sultan
Air Base to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

The move was controversial, as some said that it was a needless
contingent that only enraged Muslim populations, while others said that
the United States were caving to the demands of Osama bin Laden.

U.S. officials transferred control of portions of Prince Sultan Air Base
to Saudi officials at a ceremony on August 26, 2003. The base had been
home to about 60,000 US personnel over time.
===============

How do you respond to that?