WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The Defense Department has prepared plans for the
withdrawal of U.S. troops and major military facilities from Saudi Arabia.Officials said the pullout could begin later this year in the aftermath
of a successful military campaign to topple the regime of Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein. They said the withdrawal would be launched
within weeks after the situation in Iraq stabilizes."We won't need troops in Saudi Arabia when there's no longer an Iraqi
threat," Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said. "The Saudi problem
will be transformed."Wolfowitz, in an interview on National Public Radio on Wednesday,
envisoned a secular and modern Iraq in the aftermath of the Saddam regime.
He contrasted the Iraqi people, most of whom are Shi'ites, with the Sunni
majority in Saudi Arabia and predicted that Iraqis will not launch a
backlash against the United States.
NOTE: The above is not the full item.
This service contains only a small portion of the information produced daily by Middle East Newsline. For a subscription to the full service, please contact Middle East Newsline at: editor@menewsline.com for further details.
