Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Heroes for the Homeland | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

Following the liberation of Kuwait, I was invited to join a media delegation that was visiting a military base in Saudi Arabia to meet with our brave soldiers. One of the psychological characteristics of our society is to avoid talking about oneself, and so all we heard from the officers and soldiers who had participated in the war of liberation was primarily focused upon the significance of the Saudi Arabian army’s contributed to the liberation of Kuwait and the Saudi leaders order’s that the army should support the rights of their Kuwaiti brothers and fight against the injustices that they suffered. Each soldier or officer avoided talking about the heroic role they might have played in the conflict – and there were many such heroic roles – although I am sure everybody [that was involved in this war] deserves their share of the plaudits. Circumstances sometimes place people in a position where they are able to perform extraordinary deeds that will be talked about for generations to come. This is because such deeds add to a country’s national pride, and the pride in the leadership that looked after [the country], as well as pride in the brave individuals who performed all these acts of heroism.

The “al-Riyadh” newspaper published a short but impressive article yesterday about a Saudi Arabian Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment named Said Bin Mohamed al-Amri who managed to overcome his Huthi captors and liberate himself. By performing this heroic act, al-Amri not only managed to evade capture and return to his unit safely, but he also managed to obtain important documents and secret maps of Huthi positions. We must take our hats off to show our respect to this brave military officer and his colleagues. There can be no doubt that this is only one example of a heroic deed, and there have been a series of heroic deeds performed by Saudi soldiers in defense of our country’s borders in the Jabal Dokhan region, the Jabal al-Ardha region, the al-Khobah village and elsewhere.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, said that Saudi Arabia “is strong and able to deter any aggression.” Saudi Arabia knows its own potential and strength. Everybody knows that such strength and potential has a “red line” that must not be crossed; according to Saudi Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviator, Prince Khalid Bin Sultan, this is Saudi Arabia’s “sovereignty.” This is something that the Huthi insurgents failed to understand when they set out on this reckless adventure, and now they are paying a heavy price.