Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=11/5/02

TYPE=INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

TITLE=TRAINOR SAUDI ARABIA

NUMBER=3-411

BYLINE=TOM CROSBY

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=

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HOST: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal is revising comments he made during an interview with U-S television on Sunday. In that interview, he said Saudi Arabia would not allow the use of its bases in case of a U-S military attack against Iraq. In the New York Times (Tuesday 11/5), he said Saudi Arabia reserves the right to decide on the use of its bases when the time comes.

Bernard Trainor is a retired U-S Marine Lieutenant General who has written extensively about the Gulf War. He tells News Now's Tom Crosby he views the earlier Saudi announcement with concern.

GEN. TRAINOR: Even with a U.N. resolution that sanctioned military action, they would not support it. And it is unfortunate that the facilities that the Saudis have, not only in terms of airfields but also ports and other facilities, would be very useful for any action against Iraq. But they are not essential. And I think the American Government recognized that possibility and they have alternate locations, in Qatar and elsewhere, to make up for any sort of denial from the Saudis.

MR. CROSBY: But is it not necessary, though, do you think, to have the Saudis', at least, tacit, support, if nothing else, in this?

GEN. TRAINOR: Oh, there is no question about that. I think the administration would very much want the Saudis on board. And if they are not going to be on board in the event of military action by the administration, I think, from a political and diplomatic standpoint, they will probably suffer the consequences of that.

MR. CROSBY: You had mentioned some possible other sites that might be used to launch air strikes from, but one that comes to mind is Turkey. And of course Turkey has just gone through an election. We have some Islamists gaining power. If you were still in command right now, would you be thinking in terms of politics, whether or not Islamists would be willing to allow U.S. military forces to operate from bases in Turkey?

GEN. TRAINOR: But I think we have to understand that in Turkey it is a secular regime and it is kind of both a buffer and a bridge between the Islamic world and the Western world. And even though the parliament will now be kind of an Islamic-based constituency, the fact is that NATO has Turkey within its fold and the Turks have been very supportive. We have been flying the no-fly zone operations out of Incirlik, and I think the Turkish Government, regardless of the elections, will be supportive of any American move, particularly if it is supported by the United Nations, as long as their sensitivity to the Kurdish question is taken into account.

MR. CROSBY: And that is very critical, is it not?

GEN. TRAINOR: There is no question about that. Not only to Turkey, but the Iranians have a problem with the Kurdish minority also. Yes, I think anything that the United States does or does not do with regard to Iraq has to take into account that the Kurdish question is one that is very, very sensitive in the region.

MR. CROSBY: Did we take that question into account in the first Persian Gulf conflict, or was it even necessary to consider it at that time?

GEN. TRAINOR: Well, certainly it was taken into account, but it was not as critical as it is at this particular point. Because the focus of attention at that time was down in Kuwait, and Turkey was, in a certain sense, in an ancillary position. But this time Turkey will be in a critical position, and I think the administration will bend over backwards to get Turkish support or acceptance for anything that the United States does.

MR. CROSBY: You, of course, were very intimately involved in the Persian Gulf conflict, the first one. As we look at the possibility of a second war, do you see a major change in strategy at all?

GEN. TRAINOR: Oh, it is entirely different this time. I mean, we were facing a very large army in those days. But they were all focused down in one area. Right now the Iraqi forces are spread out. They are in the north, facing the Kurds and also the Turks. They are in the south. And it is an entirely different sort of thing. The Iraqi Army is not anything like it was at that particular time, even though when we moved they collapsed rather rapidly. But at that point they were simply trying to hold on to Kuwait.

This time it is entirely different, because we are now looking for a regime change within Iraq itself. And therefore the desire and the intention of Saddam Hussein, of course, is to prevent his overthrow, whereas in the past he knew that he could always withdraw and give up Kuwait and still remain in power. Which was exactly what happened.

HOST: Retired U-S Marine Lieutenant General Bernard Trainor. He spoke with us from his home in Lexington, Massachusetts. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he sees no change in the Saudi position on military action against Iraq. He says discussion of a military strike on Iraq is premature, given that no decision has been made to attack the Iraqi government and its forces.

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