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When we get this direct request, we can discuss it and see how we can respond to it, Hamad
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DUBAI,
September 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Qatar signaled
Friday, September 13, 2002, that it would consider an eventual request
from its U.S. "ally" to use its territory as a launchpad for
a strike on Iraq, as Washington mulled a move of the U.S. Central
Command's headquarters to the tiny Gulf state.
"We
still don't have a direct request from the United States" to use
air bases in Qatar to launch a military offensive against Iraq,
Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani told CNN
overnight, hours after U.S. President George W. Bush warned the UN
General Assembly that action against Iraq was "unavoidable"
unless Baghdad disarmed.
But
"when we (get) this direct request, we can discuss it and see how
we can (respond to) it," Sheikh Hamad said.
"Of
course we would like to end this (U.S.-Iraq standoff) without any
military action, but we always consider (requests) from our friends.
When we get a request, we (will) announce our (final) position,"
he added.
Sheikh
Hamad stressed that Doha had "a very close relationship with the
United States, and we consider the United States our ally,"
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
Moreover,
"as a small country, we also rely on the United States' power
(protection) in our region," he said.
The
Qatari chief diplomat's remarks, in which he left the door open for
the eventual use of Qatari soil as a springboard for an attack aimed
at ousting President Saddam Hussein, followed an announcement by the
U.S. Central Command that it would move 600 staff and a mobile
headquarters to Qatar for an exercise in November, AFP said.
A
senior U.S. administration official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, also said Wednesday, September 11, that the U.S. national
security leadership was considering moving the entire Tampa,
Florida-based Central Command to Qatar.
Saudi
Arabia, which served as a base for U.S.-led coalition forces in the
1991 Gulf War, indicated it will not allow military strikes against
Iraq from its territory even though it hosts more than 5,000 U.S.
troops.
Kuwait,
occupied by Iraq for seven months until its liberation in the Gulf
War, also continues to host U.S. troops. The Gulf Emirate has so far
said it too does not want to serve as a launchpad for a fresh U.S.
offensive.
The
Central Command said it plans to deploy 600 headquarters staff to
Qatar where U.S. air forces have the use of the sprawling al-Udeid air
base, one of the biggest in the region.
"As
part of the biannual exercise 'Internal Look 03", U.S. Central
Command will deploy a portion of its command staff to Qatar sometime
in November," said Lieutenant Commander Nick Balice, a spokesman
for the command.
The
command will also move and test a new deployable headquarters
consisting of several modular buildings designed for command, control
and communications activities, he said.
Although
the command has held command post exercises every two years since
1990, this is the first involving a move of personnel and equipment to
the Gulf.
Pentagon
officials would not rule out the possibility that the headquarters and
staff may be left in Qatar after the exercise is over.
"Nothing
is definite," one official told AFP. "A lot can happen
between now and then."
A
semi-official Egyptian daily claimed Wednesday that Saddam warned Doha
that "he would retaliate by destroying Qatar if the United States
used the al-Udeid air base to launch a strike against Iraq."
Quoting
unspecified Iraqi sources, Al-Gomhuriya said the warning was delivered
to the Qatari Foreign Minister when he visited Baghdad late August to
relay a "threat" from the United States that it would
unleash "hell" on Iraq unless it readmitted UN weapons
inspectors.
