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Saudis deny use of air base in any U.S.-led war

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Tuesday, December 31, 2002

ABU DHABI Ñ Saudi Arabia has denied the assertion by unidentified U.S. officials quoted in the New York Times that the kingdom will allow one of its major air force bases for use in any war against Iraq.

Saudi officials said the kingdom has not decided to allow the United States to use the Prince Sultan air base for any attack on Baghdad. The officials said Riyad has consistently opposed any form of participation in a war against the regime of President Saddam Hussein, Middle East Newsline reported.

"This report is untrue," Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz said. "The kingdom's position on this issue has been very clear from the start."

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Saudi Arabia has relayed a decision to allow for the use of Prince Sultan for any U.S.-led war against Iraq. Later, Saudi and Western sources said Riyad's approval contained numerous restrictions.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal also denied that the kingdom would allow the use of its bases and air space for a war against Iraq. He said Saudi Arabia seeks a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi crisis.

"The truth is what I said, not what the newspaper reported," Prince Saud said.

Earlier, Arab diplomatic sources and U.S. officials said the Saudi approval for limited use of the air base was relayed about two weeks ago in wake of a series of high-level military and defense meetings between Riyad and Washington. The sources and officials said the approval was part of an understanding for the improvement of relations between the two countries in the aftermath of the Al Qaida suicide attacks on New York and Washington in September 2001. Fifteen of the 19 Al Qaida attackers were Saudi nationals.

Officials said Saudi Arabia signalled in August that it was willing to discuss the use of Prince Sultan as part of an agreement regarding the future of defense and military cooperation between Riyad and Washington. About 3,000 U.S. air force personnel, warplanes and an advanced command and control air system are based in Prince Sultan.

Arab diplomatic sources said the Saudi agreement would allow U.S. warplanes to take off from the Prince Sultan air base in missions to protect the kingdom. This would include patrols of southern Kuwait and the region near the Saudi border.

"The agreement is far more vague than we're comfortable with," a government source involved in the effort said. "We probably won't be able to assess the value of such an agreement until the war takes place."

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