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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (13102)	10/18/2004 8:56:49 PM
From: Ron	Respond to of 20773

Report: Bush Blocked Plan for Muslim Iraq Force Mon Oct 18, 3:12 PM ET By Irwin Arieff UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States rejected a Saudi plan for an all-Muslim force to protect U.N. election staff in Iraq (news - web sites) because the force would not have been under U.S. command, New York daily Newsday reported Monday. Saudi Arabia announced it hoped to organize such a force last July during a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) but several Muslim countries, including Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan also were cool to the idea because they would serve under U.S. command, and because of the increasing violence in Iraq. The United Nations (news - web sites) also was uncertain whether it wanted its staff protected by a force of all one religious group rather than its usual multilateral approach, U.N. sources said. But Newsday said Crown Prince Abdullah personally lobbied President Bush (news - web sites) to agree to deploy a unit of several hundred troops from Muslim nations to help prepare for January elections. Washington, the newspaper said, turned down the proposal because the troops would have been under U.N. control under the Saudi plan rather than the U.S. commanders who lead the multinational force now intended to ensure security in Iraq. The question of control "was a serious issue for the commanders of the multinational force," Newsday quoted an unnamed White House spokesman as saying. A senior U.S. administration official in Washington blamed the Iraqi government for the plan's failure, saying it did not want troops from neighboring countries deployed inside Iraq. In addition, the plan contained no real commitment by other Arab nations to contribute troops to the force, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But Iraqi officials said they had already worked out a deal with the Saudis ruling out the involvement of any Iraqi neighbor, Newsday said. "This was a missed opportunity for the United States to have other nations share the burden in Iraq," Newsday quoted one unnamed Saudi official as saying. The Saudi crown prince discussed the plan with the U.S. president by telephone on July 28, the newspaper said. In Riyadh, a Saudi government official said he was unaware the plan had been blocked. His government's role had been confined to making the proposal in July, the official said. "We're just putting it on the table. We put the plan out and it's for the parties to go ahead or not," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The world body is under heavy pressure from the United States, Iraq and other countries to send senior staff into Iraq quickly to help conduct the elections, due by Jan. 30. Both the Bush administration and Iraq's current leaders believe that sticking to the timetable for the first democratic elections in decades is crucial to quelling an insurgency that has killed thousands since last year's U.S.-led invasion. But because of the precarious security situation, U.N. help is hampered by a ceiling of 35 imposed on all international staff in Iraq, including political and humanitarian workers. Annan pulled all international staff out of Iraq last year after two bomb attacks on U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. The first, in August 2003, killed 22 people and injured 150. -AP