General John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, says the military is upgrading al-Udeid for use as a command-and-control center if the Saudis put CAOC off-limits.

CNN: Do We Still Need the Saudis?

At one stage, the Saudis privately indicated a willingness to support a military campaign--at a minimum, the Pentagon would expect permission to use CAOC--if the region cools off and Saddam refuses to admit weapons inspectors.

CNN: Do We Still Need the Saudis?

The Saudis approved Pentagon use of the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC), a multibillion-dollar U.S.-built facility at the Prince Sultan base, to direct the air war against the Taliban but did not offer to allow American bombers to fly combat missions from Saudi bases.

CNN: Do We Still Need the Saudis?