As for Prince Sultan air base, American military commanders declined a request to visit, arguing that it is a Saudi base.

Saudi bases played a crucial role in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, and disrupting their use now could complicate any airstrikes against Iraq, officials said.

We know the date and the French city where they hired him, to lead the land attack on the big Saudi military bases at Khamis Mushayt.

The United States would need permission to use Saudi airspace adjacent to Iraq, if not Saudi bases themselves, officials said.

Saudi bases and oil fields under attack by Iranian bombers.

That trend was capped at a sprawling Saudi military base last Friday by the first face-to-face meeting between Mr. Clinton and the King.

But he nonetheless said Saudi Arabia would not allow the United States to use Saudi bases to stage any future attack against Iraq.

It is ostensibly a Saudi base, but the American troops operate within a secure perimeter inside the main base.

During the war in Afghanistan, for instance, the Saudis prohibited American planes from flying missions from Saudi bases.

Washington put up with this because Saudi bases were ideally located for patrolling southern Iraq's no-flight zone.