diplomatic support and, possibly, military assistance to the Gulf Cooperation Council's presence in Bahrain. Saudi national security adviser, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, has reportedly asked for Pakistani support in Bahrain, including the possible integration of Pakistani troops into the approximately 4000 Saudis alr

prochement with Iran, despite the failure to reach a breakthrough on Tehran's nuclear programme in high- level talks in Geneva last weekend. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi spy chief, went as far as to declare a "major shift" away from Washington. But diplomats in the Gulf say his cousin Prince Mohammed bin

footnote is that a key player in the 1981 AWACs fight (and, indeed, the man who popularized the "Reagan or Begin" phrase) was Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then a diplomat in Washington and now Saudi intelligence chief. Bandar's erratic behavior in recent months has infuriated U.S. officials — and thi

d the start of the muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi government orchestrated its equivalent of Washington's Friday afternoon news dump: Prince Bandar bin Sultan, son of the late crown prince and defense minister, Sultan, was appointed the new intelligence chief. The kingdom may want minimal coverage and ana