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Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri
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Additional
reporting by Reda Hammad, IOL Correspondent
MANAMA,
October 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iraqi Foreign Minister
Naji Sabri charged that U.S. threats against his country were aimed at
the whole region as he kicked off a tour of three Gulf states in
Bahrain Friday, October 4. Meanwhile, the Bahraini King asserted that
the Arabs lack the ability to prevent war nor to impose peace.
"The
(U.S.) threats against Iraq are directed against the whole region and
against security and stability around the world," Sabri was
quoted as saying upon his arrival in Manama by the state BNA news
agency.
"The
region is confronted with a dangerous threat to its future," said
Sabri. As he was greeted by his counterpart Mohammed bin Mubarak
al-Khalifa, he said he had a message from Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein for King Hamad bin Issa.
Sabri,
who will spend two days in the kingdom and hold talks with senior
officials before visiting the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, also
called on Gulf states to "stand up to this danger with
solidarity, wisdom and a just behavior liable to protect the region
against the catastrophes of war."
However,
Issa seemed to disagree. In an interview with Egyptian daily newspaper
al-Ahram Friday, the King, whose country hosts the headquarters of the
U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, told the same paper that the Arabs had no
means to prevent war on Iraq or provide real support to the
Palestinians, locked in a two-year Intifad against Israeli occupation.
"We
should not deceive ourselves, deceive Iraq or the Palestinian people
when it comes to the joint Arab possibility to support them or to
repel harm. "We cannot prevent war or impose peace. Arabs should
have the courage to admit this reality so that we can build on it and
save what can be saved."
He
maintained that the Arabs "sincerely" want peace and
co-existence with all parties.
For
his part, the country's crown prince, Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa,
also warned in al-Ahram that "Iraq is not Afghanistan, and war
(against Baghdad) will be long.
"The
question is, who is going to finance this war."
IslamOnline
was told that Sabri "would convey a message of assurance to
Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, concerning Iraq's keenness
on the region's stability and security".
Diplomatic
sources in Bahrain, however, believe that Bahrain will not be able to
give Sabri any promises to refuse the U.S. using the Kingdom's
territory to strike Iraq. The sources, moreover, believe that Bahrain,
and other Gulf States, see the U.S. strikes as "eventual",
but they "bet on the return of weapons' inspectors to Baghdad as
quickly as possible, as the only solution for defusing the crisis and
saving the faces of Gulf leaders.
Earlier,
the Iraqi Ambassador to Doha, Fakhri Hammudi al-Dlimi, told Agence
France-Presse (AFP) that Sabri would be visiting the three Gulf states
to discuss the "escalation in tension between Iraq and the United
States," which repeatedly threatened to invade Iraq over its
alleged weapons of mass destruction program.
His tour started on the same day as comments by Bahraini Prime
Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa were published
suggesting a special Gulf Arab delegation visit Baghdad to try to
avert another Gulf war.
"I
think we should gather now as Gulf states and make up a delegation led
by one of our heads of state who has wisdom and tact, to go and see
the brothers in Iraq," he told al-Ahram.
"Striking
Iraq would be a catastrophe for the Gulf and Arab region; destruction
will not end, so why should we remain silent?
"Can
we accept as Arabs that an Arab state (Iraq) comes under the
occupation of a foreign or several foreign states? If we do, then we
have to accept and expect the occupation of other states," he
added.
The
United States reportedly plans to increase the number of its troops at
Qatar's al-Udeid air base from 2,000 to 9,000 by year-end. The UAE,
meanwhile, has said it opposes any invasion of Iraq.
