Saudis Take Lead In Bringing Muslim Troops To Iraq

[Ronn_Bman]

Sounds like a very good idea to me!

Saudis take lead in bringing Muslim troops to Iraq Allawi: Arab leaders must unify Friday, July 30, 2004 Copyright (c) 2004 The Daily Star Compiled by Daily Star staff Iraqi Premier Iyad Allawi said Thursday that Muslim countries must close ranks against "those gangs, those terrorists and those criminals" who he said are threatening the Arab world. With Secretary of State Colin Powell standing at his side, Allawi voiced support for a Saudi-led initiative under which Muslim countries would be encouraged to contribute to a new force that would try to bring stability to Iraq. "The leaders of this region must unify and must stand as one group," Allawi told a news conference. He said if the 15-month old insurgency in Iraq prevails, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon would not be safe. Allawi spoke a day after a militia attack killed 70 Iraqis and wounded 56. It was the deadliest attack since Allawi took office a month ago from a US governing authority. Allawi later flew to Abu Dhabi for talks with the government of the UAE. Before he left, Saudi officials said their government would restore full diplomatic relations with Iraq for the first time since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Additionally, Iraqi Planning Minister Mahdi al-Hafidh announced that Saudi Arabia has agreed to inject $1 billion into Iraq's reconstruction. Hafidh said Iraq had also made good progress in negotiations with the Saudis to write-off its debt to the kingdom. He added that similar talks will be held with Kuwaiti officials later, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Saudi grant of $1 billion had been pledged earlier, but the money had not been deployed. It is earmarked for infrastructural projects approved by the international reconstruction fund managed by the World Bank. Under the Saudi proposal for a regional force, Arab and Muslim countries that do not border with Iraq would be invited to contribute. Iraq believes involvement by its neighbors in the country's security could ultimately lead to political conflicts with them. "We look forward to the contribution of the Arab and the Islamic states with the exception of the neighboring states," said Allawi, who is on a regional tour and has asked Arab and Islamic nations to contribute troops to protect a UN mission in Iraq. Powell welcomed the Saudi initiative and said the time may be ripe for a more active role by Arab and Muslim countries based on the handover of sovereignty to Allawi, along with the approval of a UN Security Council resolution that gives legitimacy to his interim government. Powell, who is on the third leg of a trip to Europe and the Middle East, later flew to Kuwait where he told reporters that the Saudis are trying to shape their proposal in a way that garners maximum support from Arab and Muslim populations. Among the unanswered questions, Powell said, was whether a Muslim security force would complement the existing US-led coalition or be a one-for-one substitution. Some of the countries mentioned as possible participants in a security force - Malaysia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Morocco - are from far outside the region. Pakistan is among the many countries that Iraqi officials have contacted in recent weeks. The Arab League has been reluctant to confer legitimacy on the interim Iraq government because of the continuing US troop deployment. League spokesman Hossam Zaki said Wednesday the organization's general stand was that any request for troops "should come from a legitimate Iraqi government, the force should not be part of the occupation of Iraq and should be authorized by a UN Security Council resolution and under UN leadership." Many Arab countries have indicated they would be willing to get more involved in Iraq if they can do so under UN umbrella. They must contend with hostility among their citizens toward the US and what is seen as Allawi's US-backed government. No Arab country is now a coalition participant and the numbers. Politically, it would be far easier for Muslim countries to commit themselves as a group rather than individually.

[ 07-29-2004, 05:34 PM: Message edited by: Ronn_Bman ]