U.S., SAUDIS PREPARE FOR BOLSTERED MILITARY TRAINING ABU DHABI [MENL] November 12, 2003 — Saudi Arabia and the United States are completing details for an accelerated military training schedule for 2004.

The U.S. Defense Department has drafted a schedule for bolstered military training of the Saudi military and National Guard for the next year. The proposal has been relayed to Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz and will be discussed in early 2004 during the resumption of annual defense dialogue between the two countries.

The Pentagon has sent a new chief for the U.S. military training program to Saudi Arabia. On November 3, the new U.S. training chief met Prince Sultan in what was termed as the opening of the discussion of an accelerated U.S. training effort for the kingdom.

Later, Asa Hutchinson, deputy secretary for homeland security, visited the kingdom and discussed security cooperation and visa controls with Saudi officials. Hutchinson told the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat that the United States intends to increase training for Saudi security forces.

The United States has also proposed training of Saudi junior land force officers in a program designed to deepen the relations between the U.S. Army and the Saudi Army. Until now, the U.S. military has focused its training programs largely on the Saudi Air Force and Saudi National Guard.

Last month, a senior State Department official said Saudi Arabia has agreed to expand defense and military cooperation with the United States in what could pave the way for major U.S. weapons sales to the Arabian kingdom. The official said the first stage of the expanded cooperation would focus on U.S. training of Saudi forces.

Both countries have agreed that training will take place in Saudi Arabia and the United States, officials said. Saudi officers have not trained in the United States over the last 18 months because of security concerns that stemmed from the Al Qaida attacks in 2001. Officials said those security concerns have largely disappeared amid increased cooperation between the two countries in the war against Al Qaida.

Details of the training program as well as other areas of an expanded military relationship will be discussed at a Saudi-U.S. conference in Washington in the first half of 2004. Since the Al Qaida attacks in 2001, Saudi Arabia had refused to hold its annual military cooperation talks with the United States.

On Wednesday, A-Sharq Al Awsat said Saudi security forces in Riyad and Mecca uncovered a cache of booby-trapped devices including copies of the Koran that contained explosives.

The newspaper said that Islamic insurgents had planned to disguise themselves as women in traditional Islamic dress and distribute the booby-trapped Korans among pilgrims in Mecca during the Ramadan fast month.

Earlier, security forces raided insurgency hideouts in both Riyad and Mecca and five Islamic insurgents were killed in the clashes. Police said they uncovered tons of rocket propelled grenade launchers and explosives in Mecca, as well as a large number of meat cleavers and swords. In July, police found booby-trapped souvenir clocks in the shape of the Koran as well as water bottles containing explosives.

Al Qaida has claimed responsibility for Saturday’s suicide bombing that killed 18 people in Riyad and warned the next targets would be in the United States, the Gulf and Iraq, the Saudi weekly Al Majalla said on Tuesday.

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