Powell says Saudis not asking for U.S. forces withdrawal
Saudi Arabia-USA, Politics, 1/21/2002

US Secretary of State Colin Powell says that contrary to published news reports, the Saudi government is not asking the United States to withdraw its military forces from Saudi Arabia, a US state department report said.

"In my conversations with the Saudi leaders as recently as just about four or five days ago with Prince Saud, I've had no suggestion from them that they were about to ask us to leave," Powell said January 20 in an interview from Tokyo with ABC's "This Week" news program.

"We've always wanted to maintain a presence in that part of the world for a variety of reasons." He said the Saudi people know the United States is part of a collective defense agreement. "The Saudis have been good hosts and our troops have been good guests," he said.

Powell said U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf region provide a presence to deter Iraq's Saddam Hussein, and provide "a symbol of American presence, influence, and need."

"We have come to their aid before," Powell said. "And, obviously, we try not to interfere with Saudi life and we try not to be a problem to any of the countries in which we have our troops."

The United States maintains several thousand military personnel in Saudi Arabia, mostly at the Prince Sultan Air Base near Riyadh, which played a critical role in the U.S. military campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorist network in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has maintained a security presence in the country after leading a multi-nation coalition to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

"As long as these deployments are needed and serve a purpose, then I think they will be welcomed by the countries in the region, as long as we make the case to them and they understand why our troops are there," Powell said.

On Friday, The Washington Post said "Saudi Arabia's rulers are increasingly uncomfortable with the U.S. military presence in their country and may soon ask that it end, according to several Saudi sources," adding "Senior Saudi rulers believe the United States has 'overstayed its welcome' and that other forms of less conspicuous military cooperation should be devised once the United States has completed its war in Afghanistan, according to a senior Saudi official."

Previous Stories:
  American pressure on Saudi Arabia reaches new high   (1/19/2002)
  Increasing Saudi discontent over presence of American forces, paper says   (1/19/2002)
  Saudi crown prince confers with US senator   (1/10/2002)

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