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Saudi Minister Defends U.S. Military Presence
Saudi Arabia's defense minister defended the presence of U.S. forces in the kingdom Tuesday and said they were there under U.N. resolutions linked to Iraq and for the benefit of the whole region. "What we have are forces from the United States, Britain and France that have been here for 12 years under a (U.N.) Security Council resolution and under an agreement signed by the concerned countries and the Iraqi government," Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz said."This is what we have and this situation will continue because it is good for those countries, for Iraq and for Saudi Arabia," he said in comments broadcast on state television. He did not say for how long the presence might continue. His comments were in response to a Western media report earlier this month that Saudi Arabia -- a key U.S. ally in the region -- would ask U.S. forces to leave the country after any war with Iraq. Diplomats have said the job of those forces would be over if Iraq was no longer considered a threat. That's right, after the war we'll just drive everyone to our new bases in Iraq and do an about face to face the new threat. Posted by: Steve 2003-02-18 |
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