JEDDAH, 17 August 2003 — US Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid held talks here yesterday with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan and his assistant Prince Khaled ibn Sultan, the official SPA news agency reported.
Abizaid, on his first visit to Saudi Arabia since his appointment as head of Central Command on July 7, discussed “issues of mutual interest” during his separate meetings with the Saudi officials, SPA said.
The Kingdom’s chief of staff Gen. Saleh Al-Muhaya and commanders of the armed forces attended the two meetings. US ambassador to Saudi Arabia Robert Jordan was also present.
Riyadh and Washington agreed in May to withdraw several thousand US troops which were stationed in the Kingdom since the end of the 1991 Gulf War, following a visit by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Abizaid, a Lebanese-American and Middle East expert fluent in Arabic, replaced Gen. Tommy Franks as head of Centcom, which directs forces in a vast region that includes Iraq and Afghanistan.
Soon after his appointment, Abizaid said that in the face of constant attacks employing “guerrilla tactics”, US troops in Iraq could expect a longer stay than anticipated.
