The commander in chief of the US Central Command for the Middle East, Gen. Tommy R. Franks, met Saturday with Egypt's Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi for talks on the regional crisis, military officials said, quoted by AFP.
Franks, who is in charge of US military activity in the Near and Middle East, "exchanged views on the current changes developing in the region" with Tantawi, one official told the agency without elaborating.
The US Central Command is one of five US regional commands that covers an area stretching from Pakistan to Egypt. In the Gulf, about 25,000 US troops are stationed aboard ships and at bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, with a US naval headquarters in Bahrain.
Franks also discussed military cooperation and joint training programs with Egypt's chief of staff Magdi Hattata, the officials said.
Last month, a report said that Gulf Cooperation Council members appeared wary over an Egyptian plan to participate in regional defense efforts.
The concern, Gulf defense sources told Middle East Newsline (MENL), stemmed from the assessment that Egypt might disrupt what they termed the delicate balance between the six GCC members.
The sources pointed to Egypt's strategic ties with Iraq, regarded as a leading threat to Gulf nations.
"The question is once you rely on Egypt, how do you stop this dependence from growing?" a defense source asked. "The suspicions are high."
Cairo has proposed contributing to a GCC defense network that would not include Egyptian troop deployment in the Gulf. Instead, the GCC would link its early-warning and communications system to that of Egypt in an effort to ensure coverage of the Red Sea.
According to MENL, the Egyptian proposal has been raised by President Hosni Mubarak in several GCC capitals. The plan has also been discussed with the United States, which is being asked to join the Gulf network.
Egypt has argued that its systems can easily integrate with those of the Gulf. Both use Western-based data links and command and control operations. The inter-operability extends to Saudi Arabia's Airborne Warning and Control System, manufactured by Boeing. The range of the AWACS extends past the Red Sea and into Egypt, said the report.
Previous reports said that Kuwaiti Defense Minister Jaber Al Sabah had not ruled out Egyptian participation – Albawaba.com
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