US seeks Mid-East help against terror

24/04/2001| IslamWeb

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, preparing allies for possible military strikes in Afghanistan, said Saudi officials expressed concern Wednesday that a war on terrorism could create harmful ``secondary effects'' in the Muslim world.Rumsfeld met in the Saudi capital with King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, then dined at the palace of Prince Sultan, the kingdom's minister of defense. (Read photo caption below)

It was the first stop on a mission to boost support from Arab and Central Asia nations with bases that could be vital for military action.
While the Saudis offered praise for President Bush's handling of the crisis created by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, they also had concerns about their own security, Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him.
``We had a very substantive and interesting and thoughtful discussion about the nature of the problem and the complexities of the problem, and the importance of dealing with it in a way that recognizes secondary effects that could occur,'' the Pentagon chief said.
Rumsfeld said he stressed to his Saudi hosts that Bush is sensitive to concerns by Arab nations. He emphasized recent U.S. aid to Muslim nations such as Bosnia and Afghanistan.
At a midnight news conference at his palace, Prince Sultan was asked whether his country would permit the United States to use Saudi bases to launch attacks against the Taliban.
Speaking through an interpreter, he said the United States had made no such requests and that he and Rumsfeld had not discussed it.
``We do not feel there are any strikes that are going to be taken against the Taliban,'' he said.
Rumsfeld, asked whether he had come to Riyadh to iron out such issues, indicated he saw no insurmountable problems.
Bush said he sent Rumsfeld to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, and Uzbekistan because he wants leaders to see U.S. resolve face to face.
Rumsfeld also undertook his Middle East tour to squeeze friendly governments for timely intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.
In an interview on the flight from Washington to Riyadh, Rumsfeld would speak only in the broadest terms about preparations for military action against either bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network or the Taliban government that has been harboring him in Afghanistan.
He said the key was finding ``actionable intelligence'' - information to help find and arrest or eliminate bin Laden - not assembling an armada of warships and fleets of bombers.
On Thursday Rumsfeld was headed for Oman and Egypt for meetings with officials there. On Friday he was to visit Uzbekistan, a former Soviet state that he indicated could be a key source of intelligence on al-Qaida.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, left, is met by his Saudi counterpart Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Wednesday, Oct, 3. 2001 at the Riyadh Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Rumsfeld embarked Wednesday on a mission to strengthen support in the Islamic world for President Bush's campaign against terrorism. (AP PHOTO/Hasan Jamali)