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| Wednesday, January 17, 2007 |
| Iraq imbroglio: Condoleezza Rice seeks Arab support |
United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's appeal to America's Arab allies to help support the fragile government in Iraq drew lukewarm response on Tuesday from Saudi Arabia, the Bush Administration's staunchest ally in the region.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said his country hopes that US President Bush's plans to turn around the situation in Iraq becomes successful, but he was doubtful whether the Iraqi government is capable of doing its part.
"We are hoping these objectives will be implemented, but the means are not in our hands," Saud al-Faisal said. "They are in the hands of the Iraqis themselves."
Al-Faisal spoke at length about the centuries-old civilisation in Iraq where Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims have been living together for years, but are now threatened by sectarian violence that has killed thousands of people.
Condoleezza Rice thanked the Saudis for their past help in urging national reconciliation in Iraq, but did not press new requests for help from the predominantly Sunni kingdom.
Though a distinct minority, Sunnis had dominated the government in Iraq until the US-led ouster of Saddam Hussein left Shias in control.
Condoleezza Rice sounded more optimistic than al-Faisal about the will of the Iraqi government. She said: "As President Bush has said, Iraqis have to decide what kind of country they will be," alluding to Bush's assertion that the ultimate future of Iraq is in the hands of the Iraqis.
Rice and al-Faisal made their comments after a Tuesday morning meeting that followed a Monday evening dinner for Rice hosted by Saudi King Abdullah.
Later on Tuesday, Condoleezza Rice will be in Kuwait to meet her counterparts from eight Arab countries to continue her quest for assistance to Iraq.
The Arab leaders are eager for the US to take a larger role in brokering peace between Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region. While in Egypt, Rice had announced that she would bring together the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the coming weeks for a summit dedicated to exploring ideas for an eventual Palestinian state.
Before she left Washington, Rice had told Congress that Saudi Arabia should do more to help the Iraqi government because a "failed state" next-door to the kingdom would ensure an expanded role in the region for old rival Iran.
Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rice had said the "single best thing" Saudi Arabia could do would be to provide debt relief for Iraq. She was responding to a question from committee chairman Tom Lantos, (Democrat-California), who said the Saudis should use revenues from high oil prices to ease America's financial burden in Iraq.Labels: iraq |
| posted by a correspondent @ 10:26 AM |
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