SEPTEMBER 05, 10:48 ET
Arab States Vow Allegiance to Iraq
By SARAH EL DEEB
Associated Press Writer
AP/Mohammad al Sehety [28K]
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Arab states declared their allegiance to Iraq on Thursday, with a gathering of foreign ministers saying U.S. threats against Baghdad were threats against the whole Arab world.
Though some Arab governments have pressed Baghdad to accept the return of U.N. weapons inspectors to resolve the crisis, the statement adopted after two days of talks between Arab League foreign ministers made no mention of inspectors. Instead, it praised Iraq for trying to revive its dialogue with the United Nations.
The resolution was a diplomatic victory for Baghdad, which has been looking for international support against the possibility of a U.S. attack to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
In the final statement, the ministers registered their ``total rejection of the threat of aggression on Arab nations, especially Iraq, reaffirming that these threats to the security and safety of any Arab country are considered a threat to Arab national security.''
Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri applauded the resolution, telling reporters that all the Arab governments had expressed their ``total rejection of the aggressive intentions of the United States.''
The Bush administration says Saddam must go because of his alleged drive to develop weapons of mass destruction, and it is considering military action but says it hasn't made a decision yet.
Thursday's statement applauded Iraq for its ``initiative to renew dialogue with the United Nations'' and called for an end to U.N. trade sanctions imposed to punish Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The U.N.-Iraq dialogue has been deadlocked over the issue of the inspectors, who must confirm whether Baghdad has eliminated its weapons programs before sanctions can be lifted. Iraq has prevented them from entering the country for nearly four years.
Iraq says it is ready to discuss a resumption of inspections, but only in talks that will also deal with ending the sanctions and restoring the government's sovereignty in northern and southern Iraq.
The United Nations has said the return of inspectors must be the priority. Secretary-General Kofi Annan declined last month to hold further negotiations with Iraq until it accepts the resumption of the inspections.
League spokesman Hisham Youssef said the final statement did not mention the inspectors issue because the foreign ministers had been persuaded Iraq was working toward that goal and because Iraq wanted the United Nations to address its concerns that the inspectors could act as spies and that the inspections might never end.
``We believe these Iraqi concerns are legitimate,'' Youssef said.
``The return of the inspectors is an important step ... and serious discussions are under way between Iraq and the United Nations right now,'' league Secretary-General Amr Moussa said at a news conference after the communique was released.
``Iraq has asserted that she has no plans for rearming, especially with weapons of mass destruction,'' Moussa said.
A leading Iraqi newspaper owned by Saddam's son urged the league Thursday to adopt a clear stand against the United States.
The newspaper Babil said Washington was ``attempting to target Iraq as a first step toward controlling the whole Middle East region.''
Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam said Thursday that a U.S. attack on Iraq would have ``disastrous consequences, not only for Iraq but in the entire region and beyond.'' Khaddam spoke after talks in Paris with French President Jacques Chirac.
France and several other U.S. allies in Europe have come out against an attack on Iraq. The strongest backer of the United States has been Britain, and Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with Bush over the weekend.
Facing calls for a debate in Parliament over military action, Blair underlined Thursday that he will consult with legislators eventually, but not yet.
``There is no question of U.K. troops being committed to military action without the fullest possible opportunity for Parliament to be consulted. We are not at that stage,'' a Blair spokesman said.
``As we said yesterday, Saturday's meeting is not a council of war. It is an opportunity for the president and the prime minister to discuss the range of issues that flow from Iraq's continuing breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions,'' he said. |
