11 Years Ago In TIME

By Harriet Barovick, Elizabeth Bland and Sora Song

With the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Saudi Arabia was thrust into a spotlight its royal family never sought. By agreeing to accept U.S. troops in exchange for protection (after a visit from then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney), KING FAHD knew he was also inviting Western influences.

Some Saudi liberals seek U.S. support for their campaign for change. "We hope the American presence is not just protection for the status quo," says a businessman. "We assume it will bring an improvement in the integrity of the government." From Washington's viewpoint, however, pushing Fahd and family down the fast track to Westernization and democratization is a likely prescription for a Shah [of Iran]-like disaster. Swift liberalizations could easily stir religious extremists to revolt. "If there's an internal threat to the kingdom," says a U.S. expert on Saudi Arabia, "it's from fundamentalists on the right, not liberalizers on the left."

...Similarly, great pains have been taken to isolate the American troops from the Saudi public and minimize cultural clashes...Their bases are located away from cities and towns, and when they must venture into settlements, they are under orders to wear civilian clothing and to go unarmed when possible. Violations...have evoked complaints from the Saudis, though both sides are eager to downplay such frictions.

--TIME, Sept. 24, 1990