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To: Redman who wrote (31769)	11/12/1998 8:03:00 PM
From: Captain James T. Kirk	Respond to of 95453

Arabs Back American Attack on Iraq By ANTHONY SHADID Associated Press Writer CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Signaling changed attitudes across the Arab world, eight Arab foreign ministers declared Thursday that Iraq would be ''held responsible for any consequences'' of its decision to halt the activities of U.N. weapons inspectors. The diplomatic phrase was the clearest sign yet of a remarkable reversal in Arab sentiments amid signs that an American military strike may be imminent. During a similar standoff in February over U.N. inspections intended to find and destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the Arab world was outraged at the prospect of a U.S. attack. At that time, hundreds of Palestinians paraded a model of an Iraqi Scud missile and chanted ''Beloved Saddam, Hit Tel Aviv.'' Yemenis jumped off buses to join anti-American protests, and in Jordan, police had to use attack dogs to keep demonstrators at bay. The mood is far different today. Rather than anger, a sense of resignation prevails. ''Kuwait cannot stop a superpower from taking certain steps,'' said Kuwait's Sheik Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah after the meeting in Doha, Qatar, of foreign ministers from Syria and Egypt as well as six Persian Gulf states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Twenty-five more U.N. employees left Iraq on Thursday, joining 233 U.N. inspectors and relief workers who departed a day earlier. And few in the region believe Iraq is prepared to back down from its Oct. 31 decision to end the inspections. ''The question now is what will this strike be like? What will its size be and what will be the end?'' asked columnist Abdullah al-Shayegi in Kuwait's Al-Watan newspaper Thursday. That perception was echoed in Al-Wafd, one of Egypt's most popular newspapers, whose banner headline Thursday read, ''The countdown begins for the strike on Iraq.'' In the statement Thursday - a declaration that was praised by the United States - the foreign ministers expressed hope that ''wisdom and reason prevail'' so as not to worsen hardships for already miserable Iraqis. The call has been echoed in the statements of nearly all Arab countries since the buildup began. But diplomatic efforts seem to be less active than during the last crisis. Then, Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel-Meguid took the unusual step of flying to the Iraqi capital to meet President Saddam Hussein in a show of solidarity. This time, from Cairo, he urged the Iraqis to show ''flexibility.'' The softer tones in Arab capitals may not be coincidental. Some Arab diplomats have said Defense Secretary William Cohen told leaders on his tour this month of the Gulf as well as Egypt and Jordan, that if the governments did not agree with an attack, they should keep the criticism to themselves. Resentment remains, though, at what many Arabs see as the double standard in Washington's prosecution of the sanctions against Iraq and its patience with Israel in the peace process. ''This duplicity in American policy, the flagrant hostility to Arab rights and the extreme bias in favor of Israel has proven that the American administration has no credibility,'' said Tishrin, a Syrian newspaper that speaks for the government.