Carlucci, King Weigh Landing Bid
Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci held discussions with King Hassan II until early Saturday morning over the renewal of landing rights in the North African nation for the Rapid Deployment Force, diplomatic sources said.
Carlucci had an audience with the Arab monarch for three hours at the Royal Palace in Marrakesh at the foot of the rugged Atlas Mountains.
Aides said the defense secretary was locked in the negotiations until 1 a.m. Saturday. Carlucci arrived Friday at the start of a nine-day trip through North African and Asian nations.
No statement was released after the talks with the king. But diplomatic sources said they focused on renewing a May, 1982, accord giving the U.S. Rapid Deployment Force landing rights at Moroccan bases “in case of a threat against common interests.”
President Jimmy Carter set up the Rapid Deployment Force after the Tehran hostage crisis to make lightning raids in defense of U.S. interests in the Middle East.
U.S. military officials traveling with Carlucci made a field inspection of the Moroccan air base at Agadir on the Atlantic Coast on Saturday to determine if it needs upgrading for use by the Rapid Deployment Force, Western military sources said.
The financially strapped Moroccan government hopes to acquire 20 F-16 jet fighters that it otherwise could not afford in return for renewing the agreement for another six years, the sources said.
Carlucci flies to India on Monday, then continues to Pakistan on Wednesday.
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