In recent days, there has been a lot of talk about Saudi Arabia—from the Kingdom’s planned military intervention in Syria, to commentators telling us to brace for the fall of the Kingdom of Saud. With things getting dicey in Bahrain again, and given Saudi Arabia’s unsustainable economy, this may very well be the case.

There have also been some interesting information operations being run against Saudi Arabia over the last week. The below document was “leaked” on social media with an intentional mistranslation stating that Saudi military officers refused to deploy to Syria. SOFREP had a former U.S. Navy Arabic linguist, Peter Morlock, translate the document to get the real story. The correct translation also appears below.

Correct translation:

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ministry of Defense

Offices of Intelligence & Security of the Armed Forces

Subj: Request for a number of (specialists) in the war to Syria

Date: May 6, 1437 (Islamic Calendar) <2015>

** Handwritten number underlined = 517 : meaning unknown, possible document ID # **

Classification: Top Secret (literally “Utmost Secret”)

For his Highness, the Vice Minister of Council of Ministers, Minister of the Interior

Peace to you all, the mercy of Allah and his blessings

We the experts from the Armed Services of Saudi Arabia, protector of the holy mosques, religion, the King, and our nation implore that “storm operations”; not encumbered (perhaps restricted) all/each of the targets will result in quick successes in a number of missions. And in consideration of the complex issues in the region; send forces to Syria which concerns our stability, our security. The strength and training against the highest risks and our continuing studies, we hope will be suitable for the sake of our nation.

Names: Number

Gen. Abdullah bin Ali bin Abdullah Alnamla 1012467676

Gen. Salah bin Ali bin Muhammed Almahia 1008429258

Gen. Ali bin Muhammed bin Ali Al Khalifa 1029353560

Lt. Gen. Meria bin Hassan bin Ali Al Sharani 1005279764

Lt. Gen. Abdul AL Rahman bin Abdullah bin Hamid Al Rashid 1019999636

Lt. Gen. Assad bin Abdul Aziz Al Zahir 1029275169

Lt. Gen. Majid bin Talhab bin Hamd Al Atibi 1006775223

Lt. Gen. Nasser bin Abdul Al Aziz bin Adbullah Al Arafaj 1001658515

Maj. Gen. Ayun bin Ali bin Ahmed Al Shamarni 1049530924

Maj. Gen. Ali bin Halhawal bin Jerwan Al Ishjaii Al Ruiil 1030563164

End of Document