Saudis View U.S. Presence in Gulf Nation as Temporary, Envoy Says

Saudi Arabia views the U.S. troop presence in the Persian Gulf as a temporary necessity that could wane once Saddam Hussein is out of power in Iraq, the Saudi ambassador says.

With U.S.-Saudi relations strained over the investigation into last June’s fatal bombing of a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, the Saudi ambassador, questioned the permanence of the U.S. presence in a wide-ranging interview with reporters.

Neither the United States nor the Saudis have proposed a treaty or agreement formalizing the U.S. presence, though some in Congress favor such a move.

“That is a dynamic situation. We assess it regularly,” Bandar said.

The ambassador reflected on U.S.-Saudi relations Friday in advance of this week’s visit to Washington by a representative of ailing King Fahd, Prince Sultan ibn Abdulaziz, the Saudi defense minister and a deputy prime minister.

High on Sultan’s agenda with President Clinton on Tuesday will be security for thousands of U.S. troops stationed in Saudi Arabia.

The Clinton administration rejects any talk of pulling out of Saudi Arabia. But the Saudi government is under pressure from radical Islamic elements who vehemently oppose the U.S. presence.