OUR COUSINS (THE ARABS) ARE GONE NUTS!

Saudi ready to host US troops

• Saudi Arabia has not hosted US forces since 2003 when they withdrew following the end of the war with Iraq.

Saudi Arabia has decided to host US troops in a joint move with Washington to boost regional security, the kingdom's defence ministry said, as tensions soar in the Gulf.

"Based on mutual cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America, and their desire to enhance everything that could preserve the security of the region and its stability... The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, gave his approval to host American forces," a ministry spokesman was quoted by Saudi state news agency SPA as saying.

Saudi Arabia has not hosted US forces since 2003 when they withdrew following the end of the war with Iraq. The US presence in Saudi Arabia lasted 12 years, starting with Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when Iraq invaded Kuwait.

As many as 200 US aircraft were stationed at the Prince Sultan air base situated around 80km south of the capital at the peak of the Iraq war, and as many as 2,700 missions a day were handled by the headquarters in Saudi Arabia.