US assesing situation in Saudi Arabia

PTI / Oct 28, 2006, 10:11 IST

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The US has said it was constantly assesing the situation in the Middle East and would do 'whatever it could' for the Saudi govt.

WASHINGTON: Declining to comment on the specific steps put in place to meet the terrorist threats to oil installations and facilities in Saudi Arabia, the US has said it was constantly assesing the situation in the Middle East and would do "whatever it could" if there was a request from the Saudi government.
Word is that the Pentagon has moved additional resources including ships to the area in the wake of a recent tape from the Number two al-Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahiri that called for terrorists to attack facilities in Saudi Arabia.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said no 'Warden Messages' have been posted by its mission in Saudi Arabia, but the diplomatic post there is constantly assessing the situation and adjusting measures accordingly.
"I don't think it would surprise you that we wouldn't comment on any specifics of any counterterrorism cooperation we might have with Saudi Arabia or any other country."

"But I don't think it would surprise you to hear of such threats right now, because I think several weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago, Ayman al-Zawahiri, number two in al-Qaida, released a videotape in which he, among other calls to action, called for terrorists to attack and target Saudi oil facilities" McCormack said at his regular briefing on Friday.
"This would of course be a concern to the Saudi Government and there have been threats in the past against their oil facilities" he added.

"We have excellent counterterrorism cooperation with Saudi Arabia. We of course would do whatever we could if there was a request from the Saudi Government both in general terms or in specific terms for assistance in countering a terrorist threat, but I think you would understand that we wouldn't get into the specifics of that" he said.
The Spokesman would not comment if he was aware of any specific threat to the Ras Tanura export terminal falling back on his previous response that nothing much could be said on the subject.
"I think the Saudis would probably be in a better position to talk about any specific threats that might be targeted against their facilities. But as I said, in general there have been calls by al-Qaida to attack Saudi oil facilities in the recent past. And these aren't new," McCormack said.
McCormack would not even entertain a querry if the Saudis have requested for any assistance even after being pointed to the fact that the British Royal Navy has started augmenting its forces in the area in the face of a heightened threat level.
"We have an ongoing cooperation with the Saudi Government, but I'm not going to talk -- and I think you understand why -- about any specific requests or the specific aspects of our counterterrorism cooperation with them or any other country" the Spokesman said adding that "there are no Warden messages that have been issued."

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