Saudi Arabia's rulers are growing more uncomfortable with the US military presence in their country and may soon ask that it end, The Washington Post reported yesterday.
Citing a senior Saudi official, the newspaper said senior Saudi rulers believe the US has "overstayed its welcome" and its forces have become a political liability.
The official told the newspaper that Saudi Arabia would prefer a less conspicuous military cooperation once the US campaign in Afghanistan is over.
If asked to leave, the US would no longer have regular use of the Prince Sultan Air Base, where American forces have maintained a presence since the 1991 Gulf War.
Washington's relationship with Saudi rulers has been strained by the Sept. 11 hijacked airliner attacks on the US that killed about 3,100 people and were blamed by the US on Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden. Most of the 19 suspected hijackers were Saudi citizens.
The presence of US military forces in Saudi Arabia -- currently numbering about 5,000 -- has been repeatedly cited by bin Laden as a key reason for his violent opposition to Saudi rulers.
The Post said among the reasons Saudis give for deciding that it may be time for the Americans to go is that they do not want to appear to be dependent on US military support.
The American presence has become a political liability in domestic politics and in the Arab world, Saudi officials told the newspaper. The Post said the Saudi government has also become increasingly uncomfortable with a role in US efforts to contain Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The Post said that Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke declined to answer when asked whether Saudi Arabia has told the US it will ask for an American withdrawal.
"We have a very good relationship with the Saudis," she told the newspaper on Thursday night, and "we will continue to work with them in as cooperative a fashion as possible as we go forward."
Saudi officials who spoke about a US withdrawal told The Washington Post that nothing would be done precipitously. They said Crown Prince Abdullah -- the kingdom's effective ruler given the frail health of King Fahd -- did not want to create the impression that he was responding to pressure from bin Laden.
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