SAUDIS PRESS TO REDUCE U.S. SPY DATA TO ISRAEL - block Israel from real time
warning of Iraqi attack

LONDON [MENL] -- Saudi Arabia has pressed the United States to block Israeli
requests for data from the Pentagon's spy satellites.

U.S. defense sources said Riyad has urged the Bush administration to reject
Israel's attempt to obtain a link from U.S. spy satellites. The link seeks
to provide the Jewish state with real-time information on any Iraqi missile
launches.

Saudi officials have privately assured Arab allies that the administration
has agreed to the Saudi request. But the U.S. sources said they could not
confirm this.

The Israeli request sought to link its Arrow-2 missile defense system to
U.S. spy satellites. The goal was to provide Israel with instant alert of an
Iraqi missile attack amid Washington's preparations to topple the regime of
President Saddam Hussein.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

NOTE: The above is not the full item.

This service contains only a small portion of the information produced daily
by Middle East Newsline. For a subscription to the full service, please
contact Middle East Newsline at:
editor@menewsline.com for further details.