Riyadh, Saudi Arabia --- The United States, which has had a military presence in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade, is expected to follow through on plans to withdraw nearly all of its forces after the Iraq war, to help maintain U.S.-Saudi relations, American officials and Middle East experts say.
A senior diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said several thousand personnel at Prince Sultan Air Base are likely to be pulled out within months after the United States officially declares victory in Iraq.
The base, about 80 miles south of Riyadh, the Saudi capital, is being used to run the air war in the U.S.-led military campaign.
Widespread Arab opposition to the war is putting intense pressure on the pro-American monarchy that governs Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials publicly deny they have allowed the U.S. military to use the air base for anything more than enforcing no-fly zones.
''They undoubtedly will not be sad to see our military leave that base when the time comes,'' said the diplomat. The U.S. departure from the Saudi-owned base will presumably be ''a matter of months and not years,'' he said.
The decision is not surprising because having combat troops in Saudi Arabia has a downside for the United States, too. Osama bin Laden has used the presence of non-Muslim troops in an important land of Islam to rationalize attacks on U.S. targets around the world. Before the war, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the defeat of Saddam Hussein would let the United States ''change the presence levels of American troops throughout that region.''
U.S. combat aircraft flew hundreds of missions from Prince Sultan during the 1991 Gulf War and remained on the base to enforce a United Nations-imposed no-fly zone in southern Iraq. It also served as the command post for the air campaign in Afghanistan.
While the use of Saudi territory has been crucial during the current conflict, defense analysts said, the military's withdrawal after the war would have no substantial impact on U.S. security interests in the region.
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