For some time, military and political leaders in both Saudi Arabia and the United States have been quietly debating the value of a continuing U.S. military presence in the kingdom. Some on the American side argue that restrictions on U.S. activities and frictions with the Saudi government outweigh the advantages of basing planes, command and control systems and some 5,000 troops on Saudi soil; others say it would be far more difficult for the United States to defend the Persian Gulf, or mount a new campaign against Iraq, without the deployments. ...

Published in the Sunday, January 20, 2002 edition of the Washington Post.