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| The Alliance |
| Rumsfeld and Blair tour "coalition" |
| 2001-10-04 |
The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and Tony Blair embarked yesterday on emergency missions to repair holes in a shaky anti-terrorist coalition, after nervousness among key regional allies pushed back the launch of air strikes on Afghanistan. American officials yesterday confirmed that the governments of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Uzbekistan had had last-minute doubts about allowing their territory to serve as a base for military operations aimed at Osama bin Laden, his al-Qaida terrorist group and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The three governments, together with Pakistan, have "serious problems" about allowing the US to establish bases for special forces and military hardware on their territory, according to American officials. The apparent deadlock in negotiations about the bases has prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity. Mr Rumsfeld arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday for talks with King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah and the defence minister, Prince Sultan. Earlier this year, the US completed a state-of-the-art command centre at the Prince Sultan air base near Riyadh, which could be vital in a sustained aerial campaign. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |