US Defence Secretary listens to Saudi concerns

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says Saudi officials have expressed concern that a war on terrorism could create harmful "secondary effects" in the Muslim world.

Mr Rumsfeld met King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah in the Saudi capital Riyadh and then dined at the palace of Prince Sultan, the kingdom's minister of defence.

It was the first stop on a mission to boost support from Arab and central Asian nations with bases that could be vital for military action.

While the Saudis offered praise for President George W Bush's handling of the crisis created by the September 11 terrorist attacks, they also had concerns about their own security, Mr Rumsfeld told reporters travelling with him.

"We had a very substantive and interesting and thoughtful discussion about the nature of the problem and the complexities of the problem, and the importance of dealing with it in a way that recognises secondary effects that could occur," the Pentagon chief said.

He said he stressed to his Saudi hosts that Mr Bush is sensitive to concerns by Arab nations. He emphasised recent US aid to Muslim nations such as Bosnia and Afghanistan.

"We recognise that there are elements in the world - terrorists and terrorist networks - that make an active effort to turn that portion of the globe against the West and the United States," he said.

Saudi officials have said publicly that American troops must not use bases inside Saudi Arabia to launch attacks on other countries in the region, including Afghanistan.

At a news conference at his palace, Prince Sultan said the United States had made no request to use Saudi bases to launch attacks against the Taliban and that he and Mr Rumsfeld had not discussed it.

"We do not feel there are any strikes that are going to be taken against the Taliban," he said.