(Middle East Newsline) Saudi officials said U.S., British, and French forces would leave the kingdom after the conclusion of a war against Iraq. More than 5,000 Western troops, most of them U.S. Air Force personnel, are deployed in the Prince Sultan Air Base. NATO members use the air base to monitor the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq. But Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled Bin Sultan said he expects the United States and its allies to end the no-fly zones over the next year, once the regime of President Saddam Hussein is toppled and order is restored in Iraq, which will permit the departure of the Western military forces from Saudi Arabia.
2003-02-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive