AMMAN,
July 14 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Arab League Secretary
General Amr Mussa Sunday, July 14, said the pan-Arab organization and
its 22 members were opposed to any U.S. strike on Iraq.
"The
Arab League is a gathering of Arab countries and our Arab position is
clear ... we cannot back any attack on Iraq or on any Arab
country," Mussa told reporters in Amman, the state Petra news
agency reported.
He
was speaking after meeting with Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu
Ragheb that focused on the Middle East crisis, especially the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and U.S. threats of attacking Iraq,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
Abu
Ragheb meanwhile reiterated his country's firm rejection of a recent
stream of U.S., British and Lebanese press reports suggesting that
Jordan could help the United States attack Iraq, the agency said.
"The
reports saying that Jordanian territory and air space could be used to
carry out a military strike on Iraq are totally untrue," said Abu
Ragheb, denying anew that any U.S. troops were deployed in Jordan.
Mussa
also expressed his "total conviction that Jordan, like all other
Arab countries, is attached to the decision of the (March) Arab summit
that rejected any military action against any Arab country,"
Petra said.
U.S.
President George W. Bush has renewed a pledge to use "all
tools" at his disposal to oust Saddam, whom Washington accuses of
developing weapons of mass destruction.
Mussa
arrived earlier Sunday in Jordan to attend the opening ceremony of
Amman Cultural Capital of the Arab World, a title bestowed on the
Jordanian capital by the UN Education, Science and Culture
Organization for 2002.
King
Abdullah II is expected to attend the official ceremony which will
feature a show rich in music, song and dance.