Cohen: The US will not leave the region
Bahrain-USA, Politics, 11/17/2000

The US defense secretary William Cohen said on Thursday that the US will not leave the region despite the attack which targeted the US warship USS Cole in Yemen on October 12 and resulted in killing 17 American navy personal.

News reports quoted Cohen saying to journalists upon his arrival in Manama where the American 5th fleet is positioned that he thinks the attack on the ship was behind a plan that aim to push the US away from what he called international obligations and subsequently away from the region, but he stressed that will not happen.

Cohen added that Washington intends to get involved in the international issues and to make the necessary arrangements in order to protect the American forces and to arrest those who are responsible for carrying out the attack against the Americans as well as to bring them before the court.

Replying to a question on whether he seeks during his visit to the region to draw arrangements to use the airspace to launch strikes as soon as the side responsible for attacking warship USS Cole is specified, Cohen said that it is still early to talk about that, adding that the most important is that the US will keep its contacts as a precaution against any crisis.

However, the visit of the US defense secretary comes as his first in a tour during which he will also visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates UAE, Oman, Egypt and Israel.

Meantime, Bahrain's crown prince and commander general of Bahrain's defense force Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad al-Khaleifa on Thursday met with Cohen currently in a tour on the Middle East that will cover nine states.

The Gulf News agency said that the two sides stressed during the meeting the need of backing security and stability in the region and to revive peace efforts in the Middle East so as to ensure a just and comprehensive peace based on international legitimacy resolutions.

The two sides also exchanged views on current conditions and developments on the Gulf and Arab arenas and ways of finding out backing for mechanism of joint cooperation between the two countries especially in the military areas.

Previous Stories:
  One arrested in Bahrain for planning a suicide attempt against US interests in Gulf   (10/28/2000)
  Bahrain closes schools in which Americans study   (10/25/2000)
  Ruler of Bahrain confers with Cohen   (4/8/2000)

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