The State Department is advising nonessential U.S. diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. The advice is based on anti-American sentiment in the region, a U.S. official said Wednesday. All three countries are expected to play supporting roles in the event of a U.S. military campaign in Iraq. Family members of U.S. diplomats in Qatar and Bahrain were also advised to depart. The government will pay for their travel home as well as for departing diplomats in all three countries. Family members of U.S. diplomats in Saudi Arabia had already been advised to leave the country. Last year, the department spent more than $2.6 million to evacuate 13 diplomatic posts overseas for security reasons. The year before, it cost more than $3 million to evacuate 16 posts, and in 2000 eight posts were evacuated at a cost of $565,369, the department said. Full Story
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