Rumsfeld, Powell deny Saudis want U.S. troops to leave

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Sunday denied a newspaper report suggesting the Saudi Arabian government plans to ask the United States to withdraw its troops from the country, one of the issues at the heart of Osama bin Laden's grievances with America.

"To my knowledge, the Saudis have not said that," Rumsfeld said on NBC's "Meet the Press." He said the media have "copycatted" a newspaper article, referring to a report Friday in The Washington Post that Saudi Arabia's leadership is increasingly uncomfortable with the U.S. military presence and "may soon ask that it end."

"We are always in countries at the pleasure of the host country," Rumsfeld said. "How it will evolve in the future is up to the Saudis."

U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia operate from the remote Prince Sultan Air Base, where a U.S.-built command and control center directs the air war over Afghanistan and air patrols over southern Iraq.

The United States mainly operates refueling and airborne reconnaissance aircraft from Saudi Arabia. U.S. Air Force F-15s fly out from there but are not allowed to launch attacks. Under Saudi rules, they can respond only in self-defense.

Washington would prefer to maintain its military presence in Saudi Arabia, but several military sources said that if the Saudis no longer want U.S. troops to defend their territory, then the military will withdraw and reposition its airplanes and ships.

Nearly 5,000 U.S. forces are stationed in Saudi Arabia, a presence that dates back more than a decade to the Persian Gulf War.

U.S. military officials hinted that maintaining a military presence in Saudi Arabia is beneficial to the Saudi royal family because of the growing threat of terrorism within the kingdom. Many Saudis, however, support bin Laden's self-proclaimed holy war to get American forces out of Saudi Arabia -- the birthplace of Islam and the site of the faith's two holiest places.

Secretary of State Colin Powell also dismissed suggestions that most Saudi citizens want U.S. troops out of their country.

"I'm not aware that the Saudi family is under such great pressure from the population for us to leave," Powell told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. "We try not to interfere with Saudi life, and we try not to be a problem to any of the countries in which we have our troops. And for that reason, I think we are welcome."

Powell also dismissed The Washington Post article.

"In my conversations with the Saudi leaders ..., I've had no suggestion from them that they were about to ask us to leave," Powell said.

-- CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr contributed to this report.