Reports of US plans to attack Iraq early 2003 have provoked calls for caution from Saudi Arabia and a key US lawmaker. The New York Times reported Sunday that the Bush administration is developing plans for a major air campaign against Iraq and a ground invasion early next year.
However, US officials said no decision has been made to attack Iraq, and Bush had received no proposal concerning Iraq. "We will deal with Iraq at our own time in a manner of our own choosing," a senior US official told AFP.
"The US policy about Iraq is very clear, and the world understands the nature of the Iraqi regime." The official said contingency plans with regard to Iraq had been prepared over the last 10 years and it was "normal that they would update regularly these contingency plans".
For his part, Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister, said any attempt to oust Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi President, may be unnecessary if he agrees to arms inspections mandated by the UN. "If Iraq accepts these inspectors, then we don't see there is any reason for attacks," the foreign minister told ABC's This Week program.
"We believe that Iraq has made a decision not to return to the actions it took in 2nd August 1990: not to threaten Kuwait; to guarantee the territorial integrity and independence of Kuwait; to finish the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions. And they just announced today their meeting with the secretary general to have inspectors back on Iraqi soil."
Senator Tom Daschle, leader of the majority Democrats in the US Senate, also called for caution, saying US anti-terror efforts should focus on unfinished business in Afghanistan, where remnants of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban groups still pose a threat. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
