This is from the Gulf States Newsletter but is based mostly upon material
from the Washington Post.
Cheers, Ken Hanly
Saudis Resisting U.S. Use Of New Command Centre, Washington Post Reports -
Posted Saturday, September 22, 2001 by Various
Saudi Arabia is resisting a request to use the U.S. Air Force's new Combined
Air Operations Center at the Prince Sultan Air Base in any forthcoming air
campaign, the Washington Post reported today, quoting unidentified U.S.
defence officials.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is trying to convince the Kingdom to
reverse its decade-old policy prohibiting the U.S.A. from staging or
commanding offensive air operations from Saudi air bases.
The report said that Saudi resistance to using the Prince Sultan Base had
forced U.S. military planners to consider moving the operations centre to
another unspecified country-which could delay for weeks any air strikes.
The Combined Air Operations Center at Prince Sultan Air Base, some 113
kilometres south-east of Riyadh, became operational only six weeks ago. It
integrates intelligence and information-gathering systems.
