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Opposition to any U.S. attack on Iraq is growing everywhere on the planet, will that convince Bush to back off?
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RIYADH,
August 31 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United States must
listen to "friends" in the Middle East who advise against
attacking Iraq and warn of dramatic consequences, Saudi newspapers
said Saturday, August 31, 2002. Also, EU Foreign Ministers sought to
cool U.S. saber-rattling over Iraq, stressing the UN must take the
lead to solve the thorny issue.
"A
succession of friendly governments in the Middle East, including those
of the kingdom and Egypt, warned of the disaster that would follow a
unilateral U.S. attack upon Iraq," Arab News said in an
editorial, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"President
(George W.) Bush and his hawks should realize that massive fire power
alone cannot solve the serious problems that face the world today.
They should be looking for better instruments.
"A
good starting point, in search of those instruments, would be to
listen to friends," the Saudi English-language daily said.
Al-Riyadh
newspaper, roe its part, urged Washington to take into account growing
opposition to strikes on Iraq from both Europeans and Arabs, warning
it stood to lose everything if it failed to act wisely.
"Washington
plans to be the world's number one by consolidating its firm grip on
sources of energy ... This thinking lacks wisdom and
objectivity," the semi-official daily said.
"If
the United States believes that it can use a monopoly over sources of
energy as a weapon against others, it will end up fighting the whole
world and risk losing everything," the paper warned.
The
Saudi Gazette linked plans to attack Iraq and change the regime of
Saddam Hussein with the ongoing bloodshed in the occupied Palestinian
territories.
"Those
who inhabit the Gulf understand only too clearly that an evidently
unsubstantiated attack on Iraq will have dramatic consequences
regionally, especially as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains
unresolved," said the daily.
Al-Youm
daily said that both Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the United States' best
Arab friends, were in total agreement opposing a military offensive
against Iraq.
"The
two countries believe such strikes would only push this region into a
cycle of extreme chaos that will be very difficult to contain,"
the paper said.
Within
the same context, EU Foreign Ministers, meeting in Denmark, tried cool
U.S. heat over Iraq, stressing the need for the UN to take the lead
and welcoming a reduction of tone by the United States, diplomats
said, AFP reported.
Gathered
in Hamlet's Danish home town of Elsinore, the FMs mostly remained
tight-lipped as they arrived for a second day of informal talks in the
relaxed atmosphere of a beach-side hotel just along from Hamlet's
Kronborg Castle.
However,
aides said the debate on Iraq would likely focus on support for
attempts to get UN weapons inspectors back into the country.
"I
think there will be a general discussion and a declaration that we
should follow the UN path," said one diplomat in the sidelines of
the meeting. "It's important to let the UN work."
Austrian
Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner was among the few ministers
ready to talk to the press before the talks, after the first day of
discussions Friday, August 30, centered on EU enlargement.
She
notably welcomed a softening tone in the latest speech by U.S.
Vice-President Dick Cheney.
"I
welcome Mr. Cheney's speech from yesterday to proceed in a unilateral
way. There has to be a close agreement between the UN and the EU. It's
absolutely necessary to keep the pressure on Iraq," she told
reporters.
She
added that a reported British proposal to set a deadline for Saddam
Hussein did not appear to have garnered much support. "I don't
think we will have a deadline, that the idea of a deadline will become
the common position of the EU."
Italian
Minister Silvio Berlusconi also sought to cool concern that the U.S.
might act unilaterally against Iraq.
"I
think President Bush's wish is to get absolute clarification about
these weapons (of mass destruction). This is my personal
opinion," he told reporters on his arrival at the meeting.
"President
Bush assured me that he would discuss this with his allies. It's not
convenient for anybody to proceed with unilateral intervention.
Nobody, not even the world power can remain isolated from Europe and
the international community," he said.
