Saudi Arabia has decided to send a military liaison to
U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida.
U.S. defense officials said the Saudi Defense Ministry notified
Washington over its agreement to assign a representative to Central Command
headquarters in Tampa, Fla. Until now, Saudi Arabia was the only Gulf
Cooperation Council country to have refused to send a representative to
Central Command.
Central Command, responsible for the Gulf region and Middle East, is
planning the war against Iraq. So far, 43 countries regarded as friends and
allies of the United States have sent representatives to Central Command to
observe war preparations.
Officials said the Saudi agreement came after months of discussions with
the Bush administration over ways to improve military cooperation, Middle East Newsline reported. Military
ties between Riyad and Washington declined significantly in wake of the Al
Qaida suicide missions on Sept. 11, 2002.
A Defense Department source said Riyad stressed that its decision to
send a representative to Central Command headquarters should not be deemed
as participation in any U.S.-led war against Iraq. The source said Riyad,
however, has expressed concern over the prospect of an Iraqi missile attack
during such a war.
Officials said Saudi Arabia has signalled its willingness to allow the
United States to use Saudi air bases and air space to help defend the
kingdom in any war against Iraq. They said this would include using an
advanced command and control facility at the Prince Sultan Air Base to
direct combat aircraft over Iraq.
Saudi Arabia, however, has not approved any U.S. air attacks on Baghdad
from the kingdom, officials said.
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