Report indicates major
U.S.-Saudi rift

Opposition Saudi sources report that U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia are moving equipment to Qatar. The report is unconfirmed but intriguing. Washington has been planning such a move for more than a year while the Saudis allegedly are denying the United States permission to use bases in the country to attack Iraq.

If the report is true, then a major rift has opened between Washington and Riyadh.

The Washington, D.C.-based Saudi Institute cites sources alleging that they had contacted moving contractors who are negotiating with the U.S. government. The institute also cited witnesses who claimed to see U.S. military trucks moving away from Prince Sultan Air Base, south of Riyadh, toward the Qatari border.