Jackson Can’t Visit GIs in Persian Gulf

Democratic presidential contender the Rev. Jesse Jackson will not be allowed to make a planned Thanksgiving visit to U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon said Thursday in disclosing a new policy.

Officials said that the Pentagon will not sanction visits by presidential candidates and other public figures with U.S. forces in the gulf unless official duties justify the journey.

Jackson is free to visit friendly gulf nations for consultations with government leaders, but he will not be allowed to board Navy ships or visit U.S. forces on duty in the region, the officials added.

James Zagbe, an aide to Jackson, said the candidate would proceed with the fact-finding aspects of his trip to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. However, a major purpose of the trip had been to visit U.S. troops in the region over Thanksgiving.

“I don’t think it was directed specifically at us, but I didn’t see any other candidates clamoring to go,” Zagbe said of the new policy.

A ranking official insisted Thursday that the Pentagon had been working on the policy statement “for months” and that its promulgation had not been prompted by Jackson’s specific request.