ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:96062601.POL
DATE:06/26/96
TITLE:26-06-96  PERRY SAYS MORE SECURITY MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN SAUDI ARABIA

TEXT:
(Outlines preventative steps already initiated) (860)
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
USIA Security Affairs Correspondent

Washington -- Defense Secretary Perry said June 26 that more security
measures will be taken in Saudi Arabia to protect American personnel
there.

Emphasizing that "very substantial preventative measures" had already
been implemented in the past, Perry said an "intensive set" of
security measures was initiated last November following a car bombing
which killed five Americans at a U.S. training facility for the Saudi
National Guard in Riyadh. He said these included increases in security
barriers, patrols, inspections, and armed guards.

"These have had some substantial effect," the secretary told reporters
during a visit by Uzbeki President Islom Karimov. If there had been no
fence and concrete barrier around the coalition apartment complex near
Dhahran, Perry said, the "tragedy" that occurred there June 25 when a
fuel truck exploded "would have been compounded very much more."
Without those precautions, he said, there would have been "many more
casualties."

Meanwhile Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General John Shalikashvili
issued a statement in Panama June 26 calling the latest bombing attack
in Saudi Arabia "a bitter reminder of the abhorrent and senseless acts
of terrorists."

General J.H. Binford Peay, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central
Command, said personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation are
on the ground in Saudi Arabia working with the Saudi government to
investigate the explosion, which he described as "an abnormally large
response" in terms of a terrorist act. Both Air Force Secretary Sheila
Widnall and Air Force Chief of Staff Ronald Fogleman have pledged "the
fullest and swiftest cooperation in the investigation...and the
apprehension of those responsible."

"We are receiving superb support from the government of Saudi Arabia,"
Peay said from his command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in
Florida. The bombing incident "will not deter our determination to
continue Operation Southern Watch in support of the United Nations
sanctions against Iraq," he said.

During a June 26 briefing in Tampa, Florida, which was monitored at
the Pentagon, Peay also defended the security precautions which Perry
had mentioned earlier, noting that some "20 initiatives" had been
taken since November "to improve our security status." He said they
included cutting down shrubbery, setting up observation posts,
conducting roving patrols and accepting host nation support. U.S.
military forces have "always been vigilant," Peay stressed, while
noting the difficulty of defending "against terrorists."

Defense against terrorism, Peay said, requires both "great vigilance
and discipline." Even if the blast had occurred further away, the
official said, the damage would have been significant. Press reports
indicated that vibrations from the blast were felt as far away as
Bahrain.

Peay also said there was "no specific intelligence" warning or
anything unusual that "would have indicated that this particular
event" would take place. He also noted that no one has claimed
responsibility for the explosion.

Nineteen U.S. military personnel were killed in the nighttime bomb
blast, according to Peay. He said 64 others are being treated in Saudi
hospitals in Dhahran and 200 more were treated, released and have
returned to duty. Host nation medical care has been very good, he
noted. The remains of those who died will be returned to Dover Air
Force Base on June 27.

Peay said the truck blew up outside the fence barrier on the northeast
corner of the Khobar Towers complex which houses U.S., French and
British forces supporting Joint Task Force Southwest Asia which is
responsible for patrolling the no-fly zone in the skies over northern
and southern Iraq. The Americans who died were part of the 4404th Wing
(Provisional) headquartered in Dhahran and equipped with F-15s, F-16s,
F-111s and C-130 tactical airlift and rescue aircraft. But the
official stressed that there was no military equipment, aircraft or
bombs adjacent to the area of the "enormous blast."

Asked about the effect of the bombing on the mission of the 4404th
Wing, Peay said, "We had a slight degradation in the mission" in the
first few hours following the explosion, with a brief reduction in the
number of sorties flown, but "we're back up at this time." The
official also said there is no evidence that Iraqi forces have sought
to take advantage of the situation.

Although no aircraft carrier is present in the region, the U.S. Navy
currently has 12 ships sailing in the Persian Gulf. There are five
U.S. ships in the Red Sea and another six afloat in the Indian Ocean.
There are a total of 15,173 American service personnel in all three
bodies of water.

Perry will travel June 29 to Dhahran where he will be briefed on the
situation by U.S. officials. He also will meet with senior Saudi
government officials in Riyadh. While in Saudi Arabia, he is expected
to visit U.S. military forces deployed there, including those injured
in the attack. The secretary will leave the Saudi capital June 30 for
a previously planned trip to Italy, Hungary, Bosnia and Slovenia.
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