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Saturday, September 24, 2005
Saudi Arabia says Iraq faces disintegration
* Saud fears Iraq situation could draw neighbours into a conflict
WASHINGTON: Iraq is heading towards disintegration, raising fears of
a wider regional conflict, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal
warned on Thursday.
He said he did not believe the country was engulfed in full-scale
civil war but the trend was moving in that direction.
The comments, to journalists invited to meet with the foreign
minister at the Saudi Embassy, marked the second time in two days Saud
spoke publicly of his alarm over developments in Iraq and appeared to
reflect a growing disagreement between the kingdom and the Bush
administration. "Iraq is a very dangerous situation and a very threatening
situation," he said.
"The impression is gradually going towards disintegration. There
seems to be no dynamic now that is pulling the country together. All the
dynamics there are pushing the (Iraqi) people away from each other," he
said. Asked what Saudi Arabia feared most about the trend, Saud said, "It
will draw the countries of the region into conflict and that is the main
worry of all the neighbours of Iraq." He referred specifically to Iran,
which is backing and supplying Shias in Iraq, and to Turkey, which would
not permit a separate Iraqi Kurdish state on its border.
The Iraq war and occupation have cost nearly 2,000 American lives,
untold thousands of Iraqi lives and over $200 billion but there has been
little progress in stopping a bloody Sunni Arab insurgency that began soon
after the 2003 invasion.
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim country, has voiced fears an Iraqi
constitution, due to be put to a referendum in four weeks, could split the
country apart and disenfranchise a Sunni minority that lost power after
the US-led invasion.
Saud said the Sunni-Shia division was not pronounced under ousted
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, but was inflamed when the postwar
US occupation authority disbanded the Iraqi army and banned members of
Saddam's Baathist Party from jobs and leadership positions.
He said Iraqi Sunnis were only seeking jobs and guarantees of
security. He urged the Shia majority who now hold much of the political
power in Iraq to reach out to the Sunnis and assure they will be "equal
citizens." Saud said he did not see a purposeful US policy to divide Iraq
into Sunni, Shia and Kurdish states but "this is what is going to happen
if things continue as they are".
He did not urge Iraq to reject the constitution but said the key
would be how the document was implemented.
Saud said the Bush administration and his government agreed Iraq
should free, prosperous and united. But he said when he raised concerns
about growing political divisions, the Americans noted that many doubted
the wisdom of holding elections in Iraq, which turned out well, and they
expressed confidence the constitution would also be a success.
Saud repeated concerns he made to the Council on Foreign Relations
on Tuesday that Iran was increasingly interfering in neighboring Iraq,
including providing money and weapons to fellow Shias. He expressed
concern Iran may be reneging on a pledge with neighbouring states to
support a nuclear-free Middle East but indicated a preference for dialogue
to referring the issue of Iran's nuclear activities to the UN Security
Council as Washington has demanded. reuters
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_24-9-2005_pg4_1
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