Saudis close airport near Iraqi border (American Troops and Planes Seen)

Reuters | 3/06/03 | Jonathan Wright

[kattracks]

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has closed the airport in the northern town of Arar near the Iraqi border and diverted flights to the airport at al-Jawf, according to a document released by a Saudi group in Washington on Thursday.

The group, the independent Saudi Information Agency, quoted an eyewitness as saying that U.S. Galaxy transport planes had landed at Arar airport, about nine miles (15 km) from the border, and that dozens of U.S. troops were present there.

The document, a memo from the Saudi civil aviation authorities dated Tuesday, does not say why or when the authorities closed the airport. But it says the flight schedule for diverted flights takes effect on Wednesday. It was not immediately possible to authenticate the document.

Saudi Arabia dismissed a media report last month that the kingdom had agreed to allow U.S. troops and planes based on its soil to take part in any war on neighboring Iraq.

Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Prince Sultan air base -- home to most of the 5,000 U.S. troops based in the kingdom -- would continue only to enforce a "no-fly" zone over southern Iraq, its function since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

But U.S. officials and other sources in the United States said the Saudis had agreed to expand cooperation in the event of a U.S. attack on neighboring Iraq.

The Saudis would allow U.S.-led forces to fly refueling aircraft, AWACS surveillance planes and JSTARS battlefield radar aircraft from Saudi airfields, the sources said. ((Writing by Jonathan Wright;

[zarf]

Saudi is obviously allowing US forces to base and operate from their country. Exactly the opposite of what they claim to have agreed to.

This Saudi public/private game is getting tiresome.

[Robert_Paulson2]

A link to more data on this plane

what we are talking about:

The C-5A/B Galaxy mission profile

Passengers Transport:

- the C-5A/B always seats 73 personnel in rearward-facing airline-style seats in the upper aft deck, located above the main cargo compartment. If they using palletized seats in its cargo compartment there is place for another 290 passengers.

Equipment Transport:

- typical loads include two M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks
- one M1A1 Abrams and two M2 Bradley fighting vehicles
- four M551 Sheridan light tanks plus one tactical vehicle
- sixteen 3/4 ton trucks
- ten LAV-25's light armored vehicles
- four Boeing AH-64D Apache attack-helicopters

Airborne operations:

- the C-5A/B is not usually employed for airborne operations but some crews are qualified, the rear loading ramp is capable of opening in flight to drop 338 paratroopers, or four Sheridan tanks or a combination of these.

Developing Nation: United States
First Flight(s): (C-5A) June 30th 1968
First operational: December 17th 1969

link to another site...

[Servant of the Nine]

Saudi ase suddenly available, Kuwaiti Oilfields shut in, Overflights of the No Fly Zone trippled.

Stock up on snack food and beer, this is gonna be better TV than Super Bowl Weekend.

So9

[Republic of Texas]

I agree. The Saudi's penchant for playing both ends against the middle is annoying, and I hope, dangerous for their terrorist regime. We will know when the US really gets serious about the War on Terror. That will be the day that the Royal Family in S.A. is deposed.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[ErnBatavia]

Stock up on snack food and beer

Done!...and when the Schwann's guy phoned this afternoon, we had him pad our order just a bit.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I just love our new Office of Strategic Information!

[johnb838]

Funny you should mention super bowl weekend. Since the world went to hell in a bucket I haven't been able to generate much enthusiasm for sports. Nor for play-acting (movies). I know that millions agree with me. That's why I think these over-paid, under-educated Hollywood types and cry-baby athletes are so amusing. They don't realize that their time is past, at least for now.

[kabar]

The Saudis live in a rough neigborhood and additionally, they are the custodians of the two holy places of Islam. In the events leading up to the Gulf War, King Fahd made a courageous decision to let American troops stage the war from Saudi Arabia knowing full well that the fundamentalists would not like it and that the Kingdom would become a target of Saddam. In private, they told us that we must take Saddam out. We didn't leaving them exposed. One must remember that the Kingdom was the target of scud attacks and was invaded by the Iraqis at Khafji.

The Saudis permitted the US to station troops in the Kingdom after the war--a mistake in my view. Everyone praises Blair for taking a courageous stand in the face to tremendous domestic opposition. Crown Prince Abdullah deserves the same kind of praise.

It is not a terrorist regime. Quite the opposite. The Saudi Royal family is a target of the terrorists including UBL. For those who want to oust the House of Saud, be careful what you wish for. The human rights types wanted the Shah out of Iran and Carter failed to support him paving the way for his removal. The result was Khomeni who started the militant Islamic movement, touting its success in removing the US from Iran. I would hate to think of an Islamic fundamentalist government in charge of Saudi Arabia and the largest supply of petroleum in the world, by far. Just think of the havoc they could wreak with that revenue.

[Lady Heron]

In private, they told us that we must take Saddam out. We didn't leaving them exposed.

They might have, but they knew that we could not. It was not part of the U.N. mandate at the time that we were following. We were only allowed to free Kuwait.

[kabar]

They might have, but they knew that we could not. It was not part of the U.N. mandate at the time that we were following. We were only allowed to free Kuwait.

Don't get too hung up on the party line about why we didn't finish Iraq off. We promised the Saudis we would finish Saddam off. We didn't, not because of the so-called mandate of the UN, but rather, because the policymakers back in Washington felt that eliminating Saddam would result in a splintering of Iraq leaving Iran to fill the power vacuum. They made the decision to keep Saddam as the lesser of two evils, i.e., a secular, intact Iraq over an islamic fundamentalist Iran. A few years later, we also failed to support the Kurds in their attempt to overthrow Saddam, causing them a great loss of life. That is the reason we set up the no-fly zones to stop the slaughter.

[Robert_Paulson2]

If the agreed upon price tag for them letting us their territory for invading Iraq was a promise to take sadaam out one way or another.... then it matters NOT ONE IOTA what the UN resolution does or does not say. Hiding behind the UN is what the evil doers are good at...

We have to fulfill our commitments. Don't give your word if you don't intend to keep it. PERIOD... Once you have given your word... keep it one way or another.

I believe the President at the time, TRIED to do the right thing. If he or an underling lied about what we were committed to doing in order to use their soil for staging and invasion... then he, in that matter did an evil thing.

THE UN is NOT the final arbiter of right and wrong. Sadaam HAD to be dealt with. Thank God in this situation... W is not like his daddy.... though daddy was a good man....

[PhilDragoo]

ICAO: OERR
Name: ARAR
DAFIF Id: SA68268
Country: SA
Decimal Lat: 30.9065
Decimal Long: 41.1387
Altitude: 1813 feet MSL
Airport of Entry:
Fuel: 46
Beacon: Y
Longest Runway: 10007 ft.
Time: UTC+3

[PhilDragoo]

Arar at north on map in yellow NORTHERN BORDER province.

[Robert_Paulson2]

do you know what length of runway the C5s require, fully loaded?

[airborne]

There is nothing more fun than stepping out the back of a C-5 at 5,000 feet.
GOING
D
O
W
N
!

[PhilDragoo]

C-5 Galaxy

Able to take off fully loaded within 8,300 feet (2,530 meters) and land within 4,900 feet (1,493 meters).

[paul51]

This Saudi public/private game is getting tiresome.

True enough but they come through when the turks wouldn't

[Republic of Texas]

I understand the Saudi regime is afraid of the Islamist terrorists, but their solution was to try to buy them off.
The terrorists took that money and funded, developed and trained for the attack on 9/11. Basically, Saudi Arabia funded and supplied most of the terrorists for that attack. They STILL fund Madras's all over the world where they are brainwashing young kids to be terrorists, as we speak. They need to do more to convince me, and most of America, and they need to do it publicly. As of now, most of us see Saudi Arabia as an enemy, and private assurances won't cut it anymore.