Word: oman
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...crisis develop in the region. Washington has spent $256 million to lengthen runways, harden concrete aircraft hangars and install storage tanks capable of holding 1.1 million gal. of jet fuel at the bases. American C-141 and C-5A cargo planes routinely land at the Masirah Island base, off Oman's southeastern coast, dropping off supplies to be forwarded by helicopter to U.S. naval task-force ships in the Indian Ocean...
...Because Oman is sensitive about being seen as a U.S. client state, no U.S. personnel are stationed in the country. The 1980 agreement also stipulates that the bases may not be used without the Sultan's express consent. Nevertheless, Oman occasionally feels the need to assert its independence. Last September it announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union...
...strong British military presence helps the U.S. keep its distance. Some 1,000 British officers and men serve in the Omani armed forces on contract. Until last year, a Briton was commander of the army; British expatriates still run Oman's navy and air force. When Qaboos faced a Communist insurgency in the south in 1974, British troops helped to suppress...
...graduate of the elite Sandhurst Military Academy, Qaboos had British support when he organized the 1970 coup that sent his father Sultan Said bin Taimur into exile. The aging ruler had kept Oman isolated from the rest of the world. The country's few cars crawled along only six miles of roadway. Three primary schools educated a total of 909 males. The gates of Muscat were locked at night, and the use of eyeglasses was banned...
...Oman's prosperity may be threatened if its oil begins to run out in the 1990s. Another uncertainty comes from the fact that Qaboos, who is divorced, has no heirs. The leaders who gathered in Muscat last week can only hope they will be invited again for many more of the Sultan's anniversaries. --By John Moody. Reported by Barry Hillenbrand/Muscat