December 28, 2002

In the event of war

In the event of war with Iraq, the Saudis will allow use of a command center and their airspace for missions.

American commanders now say allied refueling, reconnaissance, surveillance and cargo planes will be allowed to fly from Saudi bases, using Saudi airspace on the way to missions in or near Iraq. And these officials are expressing confidence that the Saudis will ultimately allow attack missions, which are more politically sensitive, to be flown from their soil.

At least publically, this looks like a change of heart by the Saudis. They weren't giving permission and in response an alternative command center in Qatar has been built. This change of heart is the Saudis' best response so far to their recent PR disaster.

But more broadly, Saudi officials are trying to repair the damage in American-Saudi relations stemming in part from the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States were Saudis. And Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington and his wife have been pressed to explain how payments she made to the ailing Jordanian wife of a Saudi man ended up in the hands of two Saudi men who have been under scrutiny for their close ties to hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks.

I hope no deal was made to quash continued investigation of Saudi money trails in exchange for these helpful military permissions. The terrorist money trail needs to rooted out and destroyed.

"Saudi Arabia Said to Assure U.S. on Use of Bases"