‘Saudi Arabia Not To Take Part In Attack on Iraq’](http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/15/top18.htm)
TIARET, Oct 14: Saudi Arabia will not take part in a possible military intervention in Iraq, whether it is launched solely by the United States or has the backing of the United Nations, the country’s foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said on Monday.
Speaking on the second day of talks in Algeria on problems facing the Middle East, Prince Saud said that even official support from the United Nations Security Council would not change the kingdom’s decision not to participate in an attack.
Approval by the UNSC would “oblige all signatories of the (UN) charter to help the security council in its mission, but there is no doubt - on no country can it impose participation in a possible operation,” he said.
The priority for Saudi Arabia, Washington’s main ally in the Gulf, was now “to protect Iraq against possible strikes,” the diplomatic chief said.-AFP
No Arab Soldier To Join US Attack on Iraq: Mussa
DOHA: No Arab soldier would join an eventual US attack on Iraq, Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa said on Monday. “All Arab states reject military action against Iraq and no Arab soldier will take part in such action,” he said at the end of a one-day visit to Doha, quoted by the Qatari QNA news agency.
Mussa denied that the Arabs were “watching US threats against Iraq as mere spectators.” Arab diplomacy had a major input in Iraq’s decision to readmit UN arms inspectors after an absence of nearly four years, he maintained.
“Had Iraq not accepted the inspectors’ return, the UN Security Council would have passed a resolution sanctioning the use of military force” against Baghdad, Mussa added. Mussa said before leaving Cairo that he would “coordinate on the latest developments concerning Iraq and the Middle East” with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
He said on Monday that his talks here covered “developments on the Arab scene, particularly Iraq, Palestine and Sudan.” The Arab League is opposed to a US military offensive against Iraq, with or without a UN mandate, fearing it would destabilise the region. Qatar has been tipped as a likely springboard for a US attack on Iraq which Washington has threatened to launch in a bid to oust the regime of President Saddam Hussein.
The tiny Gulf state, which serves as the major depot of US military hardware in the Middle East, might become headquarters of the US Central Command. The attention on Qatar comes as traditional US ally Saudi Arabia has given the cold shoulder to Washington’s plans for a military strike on Iraq. The United States reportedly plans to beef up some 2,000 troops currently stationed at Qatar’s Al-Udeid air base.