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US moves air HQ from Saudi to Qatar
The United States has moved its air command centre from Saudi Arabia to neighbouring Qatar, a top American military official has said. US Rear Admiral David Nichols said the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) at the Prince Sultan base in Saudi Arabia would be closed later this year. "We already have switched, as of yesterday (Monday)," Admiral Nichols told reporters travelling with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who is currently visiting Saudi Arabia. The new US centre is at the al Udeid air base. The admiral said the decision had been agreed with the Saudi authorities, adding that all US aircraft using the Prince Sultan base would be removed by the middle of the year. The CAOC was set up after the 1991 Gulf war in Iraq and was used to control the coalition air campaign in the latest conflict in Iraq.Posted by: Bulldog 2003-04-29 |
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