A military strike against Iraq to overthrow the regime of President Saddam Hussein will neither resolve the problem nor serve Washington's own interests, the Saudi intelligence chief said Sunday.
"We believe that any (military) action will not lead to any result. It is not in the interest of the United States to undertake such action," Prince Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz told Okaz daily.
"The kingdom rejects launching strikes against Iraq and does not agree to any military offensive against it," he said. The intelligence head advised the US to solve the Israel-Palestinian question in order to win the support of governments in the region.
"We are asking the Americans to resolve the Middle East crisis and, if they do, they will win over the whole region ... Prove to the peoples of this region you are supporters of justice," he said.
US President George W. Bush has supported the establishment of an independent Palestinian state but steps being "taken by the United States do not lead to stability in the region," Prince Nawaf charged.
However, he praised the level of cooperation between the Saudi intelligence services and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States. "We have great cooperation with the CIA. There is an exchange of information and expertise. We want to benefit from US expertise and they are cooperating with us. Cooperation is very great," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
