|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Where they stand on Iraq: Saudi Arabia
If the United States goes to war against Iraq, who can it count on as a friend and who will line up as a foe? This week, CNN takes a look at five key countries and where they stand. Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia is considered one of America's strongest allies in the Middle East. In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, Saudi Arabia was a key base for U.S. operations. Saudi officials have for months privately indicated the United States would be able to use its high-tech air command center at the Prince Sultan Air Base, and have overflight rights in the event of war with Iraq. In addition, Saudi Arabia would provide fuel and logistical support, and allow the flights of AWACs and other support planes from its bases, officials said. While Saudi Arabia has said publicly it will not allow the United States to conduct offensive strikes from its bases, Pentagon officials say privately that that has not been ruled out. But Saudi Arabia has made it clear it would prefer not to be asked for permission to use its bases, and the United States has indicated it has other options -- including air bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman -- that would suffice. Nonetheless, the United States wants to use the Combined Air Operations Center in Saudi Arabia because it has far greater capacity than a smaller headquarters facility being set up in Qatar as part of an exercise. Saudi Arabia, a prominent member of the Gulf War coalition against Iraq, still explicitly opposes toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and any unilateral military action by the United States against Iraq. The U.S. has 5,000 troops based in Saudi Arabia, most of them deployed at the remote Prince Sultan Air Base, south of the capital. Fifteen of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudi citizens, a fact that has strained relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
