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Mubarak said he warned Bush against striking Iraq
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CAIRO,
Aug 27 (IslamOnline) - All Arab states reject a U.S. strike on Iraq,
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Tuesday, August 27, 2002, a day
after U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney called for a swift, pre-emptive
strike.
"I
don't think there is one Arab state that wants a strike on Iraq, not
Kuwait, not Saudi Arabia, not any other state," Mubarak told
students at a meeting in the northern city of Alexandria, broadcast on
state television, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Saudi
Arabia, the launch pad for U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War to evict
Iraqi troops from Kuwait, "clearly said it will not allow the use
of its bases to strike Iraq" this time, Mubarak added.
The
veteran Egyptian leader said he warned U.S. President George W. Bush
that a military intervention in Iraq could lead to "chaos across
the region".
"If
you strike Iraq, and kill the people of Iraq while Palestinians are
being killed (by Israel), this would lead to a dangerous situation; not
one Arab leader will be able to control the angry outburst of the
masses.
"I
think the United States is aware of that," Mubarak added.
U.S.
Vice President Dick Cheney Monday, August 26, warned in a speech to U.S.
military veterans in Nashville, Tennessee, that the United States and
its allies could not afford to ignore the threat posed by Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein.
"The
risks of inaction are far greater than the risk of action," Cheney
said.
Mubarak
voiced support for Washington's demand that Iraq backtrack on a 1998
decision to ban international weapons inspections. However, he insisted
that only Saddam and his entourage could be held responsible.
"Iraq
has to implement the UN Security Council Resolution (687) and allow the
inspectors back ... because the world has suspicions" about its
possession of weapons of mass destruction, Mubarak said.
"But
are you (the United States) going to kill the people of Iraq because of
one or two individuals" responsible for the inspections ban,
Mubarak asked.
The
Egyptian President stressed that Cairo sought to maintain good relations
with Washington despite friction points on Iraq and human rights.
"There
are parties in the United States that seek to harm our relationship, but
we are keen to foil their attempt," Mubarak said.
He
did not name those parties but such remarks usually mean Washington's
powerful Jewish lobby.
"Our
relationship with the United States is very good and cannot
deteriorate", he said.
Mubarak
was replying to a question from a student on the U.S. decision to halt
new aid to Egypt to protest the seven-year jail sentence handed down in
July to Egyptian-American human rights activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim.
He
noted that Cairo and Washington continued to cooperate in efforts to
stem the bloodshed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and restart the
Middle East peace process.
Cheney's
renewed call for a strike against Iraq came as the U.S. administration
faces growing domestic opposition to any unilateral action to topple
Saddam.
