February 20, 2003

Jordan and Saudi Arabia risk strife to aid friend
Public stances are countered by quiet offers of cooperation

The United States has quietly received almost complete military and intelligence co-operation from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other key Middle East nations in preparation for a possible war against Iraq, according to senior officials at the US Defence and State departments.

The co-operation included the use of a critical command centre at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia that can co-ordinate information from US special forces on the ground with fighter aircraft and armed spy aircraft, defence officials said.

In a key change of policy, the Saudis had also given permission for the US Air Force to fly combat missions from Prince Sultan air base after a war began, the officials said.

Until now the Saudis have publicly said they would only allow US military aircraft at the base to monitor the southern flight-exclusion zone in Iraq.

In recent days Turkey has denied the US permission to use its bases, in an effort to get a larger aid package than the $A10billion in grants and up to $17billion in loans so far offered.
[Outrageous!--J.T.]

US officials have said that while they want use of the Turkish bases, they can wage war without Turkey, warning it will lose out on all kinds of US help later if it does not go along with the US request.

Most of the countries in the region did not want to be left out of a US plan, a US official said. "They know that if they work with us they will reap benefits in the end."

US officials said one of their best partners had been King Abdullah of Jordan, who has quietly allowed US special forces to to set up bases in the country.
[...]Despite earlier sensitivities in US-Saudi relations, Pentagon and State Department officials said they had received assurances that the US Central Command could use the Combined Air Operations Centre at Prince Sultan for a war with Iraq.

That centre served as the technical command centre for the war in Afghanistan. But because of uncertainties over its availability for a war with Iraq the US to build an alternative centre at al-Udeid air base in Qatar.

Now the Saudi base was available, Central Command is likely to shift from Qatar, Pentagon officials said.

Ya know, screw Turkey!
We've offered them enough aid!
And if I'm not mistaken, I think this extra "war" aid is over and above the usual massive aid we've always given them.
(I think we've always paid them handsomely to keep bases like Incirlik, for one thing.)
And we went to bat for them in NATO and almost caused the thing to implode doing so (with the help of the French, of course), although I believe that NATO is now stronger than ever after this contretemps and the assertion of power by the New Europe 8 and the Vilnius Group 10.
One of the things Turkey wants from us is a containment of the Kurds in Iraq.
Well, letting the Kurds have their own state sounds more American and free to me, so why shouldn't we facilitate that, hmmm?
Meanwhile, that Islamist Erdogan, who's not even allowed to assume the presidency in Turkey, wants to completely ruin the secular state that Attaturk worked so hard to build by changing it back to an Islamic one complete with head scarves, shari'a and the stultification of ideas, a vibrant society and just plain fun.
If the Turks think they have economic problems now, just you wait!
They'd better get our their worry beads...BIG TIME.