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Putin Warns U.S. Against Attacking Iraq Alone
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"We
oppose the drawing up of blacklists," said Putin.
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States Monday against undertaking any unilateral military action against Iraq, arguing that the value of international cooperation should never be overlooked. Putin also opposed Bush's naming of Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address last month.
"We oppose the drawing up of blacklists," Putin told The Wall Street Journal in a wide-ranging interview.
Putin described Iraq as a "problem" that Russia is willing to help solve - but only under the auspices of the United Nations. "Such problems cannot be solved by one country alone," Putin pointed out, AFP reported.
Putin said that Russia and other nations had given the United States a pass in Afghanistan.
But he argued the international community would not do so in Iraq or elsewhere where "there is no ground to violate internationally recognized procedures."
In his State of the Union address last month, U.S. President George W. Bush referred to Iraq, Iran and North Korea as an "axis of evil."
Following that address, Russia and several U.S. allies expressed concern that the United States was preparing a more belligerent Iraq policy in the wake of its successful campaign in Afghanistan.
U.S. media reported Monday, February 11, that the Bush administration was conducting a major review of its dealings with Iraq and one option was to take military action.
The review is due to be finished in time for a planned visit to the Middle East by Vice President Dick Cheney next month, according to BBC’s online news service. Cheney is due to visit 11 countries in the region, including four neighbors of Iraq.
Putin, however, did not rule out U.N.-sanctioned military action against Iraq, but said this could only be considered as a last resort, the Journal reported.
"There are many ways, and the military option is far from being the sole, universal or best solution," the Russian leader said. "First of all, we need to secure the return of U.N. monitors to that country."
Iraq withdrew its cooperation with the international teams, accusing them of espionage and U.N. inspections ended on the eve of a joint U.S.-British military strike in December 1998.
Putin played down any risk of a breakdown of U.S.-Russian relations because of U.S. plans with regard to Iraq. "Our cooperation is the most important factor for stability in the world, and we should never forget that," he asserted.
In another separate-related development, Former Iraqi army chief of staff General Nizar Khazraji has reportedly been picked by the United States to run Iraq after the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein, a newspaper reported Monday.
Khazraji, who lives in exile in Denmark, "is the favored candidate" among 62 ex-officers earmarked by Washington as potential leaders, London-based Al-Hayat pan Arab daily newspaper said, quoting Iraqi opposition sources in Damascus.
According to the paper, contacts have been made with the general who reportedly enjoys "virtual unanimous support in Kurdish, Shiite and Sunnite circles".
However, another exile, General Najib al-Salhi, who lives in Jordan, is also seen as a potential "Karzai" for Iraq, said the sources, referring to Hamid Karzai, the leader of the interim Afghan government installed after the United States ousted the Taliban regime.
Al-Salhi "recently went to New York for contacts with the Americans," said Al-Hayat.
Several countries in the Middle East and the West have had consultations with exiled Iraqi officers to prepare for a possible regime change in Baghdad, it added.
The United States has threatened to extend its anti-terror war to Iraq and openly calls for Saddam Hussein's overthrow.
However, one of the main stumbling blocks is the weakness of Iraq's opposition, which has no virtual effect within the country and is unable to unite into an effective force abroad.
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