Americans concerned but not panicking amid reports of plot to bomb U.S. Navy base in Bahrain

AP | 1/24/02 | ADNAN MALIK

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MANAMA, Bahrain, Jan 24, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Amid reports al-Qaida may have plotted to bomb the U.S. Navy base in Bahrain, there was concern but no panic Thursday among Americans living and working in the Gulf nation that is a close U.S. ally.

U.S. officials on Wednesday said that a senior leader of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network told U.S. interrogators of a plot to bomb the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet base in Bahrain. Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi, a former al-Qaida training camp commander, is in U.S. custody.

Authorities, however, aren't sure if the threat was real. A Navy spokesman in Bahrain told The Associated Press Thursday that he was not aware of any precautionary moves taken in response to the reports and that the base was not at its highest level of alertness.

"For the most part we are in a posture that we feel comfortable and secure in," Lt. Chris Davis said. "Once a threat is determined to be credible we take necessary measures, but so far there's nothing."

"The main thing is that we are all aware of our surroundings we all believe that we are in a safe country to live and work and we take every precaution to maintain that," Davis said.

The U.S. Embassy here also has not taken any additional security measures.

The 5th Fleet has responsibility for the Gulf and provides ships to support the operations of U.S. Central Command, which is running the war effort in Afghanistan.

The 5th Fleet's ships normally include an aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, an attack submarine and a number of cruisers, destroyers, frigates and support vessels. A second aircraft carrier is also currently in the area. Fighter pilots are flying bombing and reconnaissance runs over Afghanistan from the carriers.

The 5th Fleet also supports the enforcement of the no-fly zone over southern Iraq, the U.N. economic embargo against Iraq and the monitoring of sea traffic from the Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf.

Bahrain has hosted the 5th Fleet for 25 years and is one of American's closest Gulf friends. Last month Bahrain became the second Arab country after Jordan to participate in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, contributing its only frigate, a gift from the U.S. Navy, to an international naval coalition in the Arabian Sea.

About 1,000 U.S. military personnel - among about 2,300 Americans in Bahrain - work on the heavily guarded base just southeast of downtown Manama. Some military personnel also live on the base, while others live in apartments scattered around Manama.

For those who don't want to venture into Bahrain, the small base has a bowling alley, an Internet cafe and a sandwich counter offering "homestyle burgers."

Navy personnel are allowed to move about the country fairly freely. They are drawn by the traditional souq where they can buy gold and custom tailored suits, as well as by air conditioned malls stocked with low-priced electronics and the latest American and European fashions, and restaurants offering everything from American hamburgers to Italian fine dining.

Bahrain's social climate is far more relaxed than in conservative neighbor's like Saudi Arabia. Women can swim or sunbathe in Western-style swimsuits at hotels. Liquor is sold at bars, nightclubs and stores, and socializing between the sexes in unrestricted.

Two years ago at one of the Bahrain's malls, a member of the royal family met a U.S. Marine assigned to a unit providing security for Americans here. The two fell in love and the sheika, as Bahraini royal women are called, left home using fake documents and married her Marine. She returned to Bahrain last year because her family feared a backlash against Arabs in the United States following the Sept. 11 attacks.

By ADNAN MALIK Associated Press Writer

Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved