Saudi Oil Fields Ablaze After Alleged Drone Attack

By Steve Bynum
This Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires and halting about half of the supplies from the world’s largest exporter of oil.
This Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia. Yemen's Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires and halting about half of the supplies from the world's largest exporter of oil. Planet Labs Inc via AP
This Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires and halting about half of the supplies from the world’s largest exporter of oil.
This Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019, satellite image from Planet Labs Inc. shows thick black smoke rising from Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq, Saudi Arabia. Yemen's Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and a major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires and halting about half of the supplies from the world's largest exporter of oil. Planet Labs Inc via AP

Saudi Oil Fields Ablaze After Alleged Drone Attack

By Steve Bynum
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Oil installations in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia were attacked over the weekend with cruise missiles and weaponized drones. Houthi rebels based in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attack, but the U.S. blames Iran. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting a civil war in Yemen against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. President Donald Trump tweeted that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” and he was “waiting to hear from [Saudi Arabia] as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!” Joining us to discuss the crisis is Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan and publisher of the Informed Comment blog. His latest book is Muhammad: Prophet of Peace Amid the Clash of Empires.