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US, Iraq oppose Saudi plan for all-Muslim force
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-19 11:33
The Iraqi government and U.S. military commanders both rejected a Saudi plan
for an all-Muslim force to protect U.N. election staff in Iraq, the White House
said on Monday.
"The Iraqi interim government had some real concerns about having troops from
a neighboring country inside Iraq. The multinational commanders also had some
concerns about forces operating outside the chain of command structure," said
White House spokesman Scott McClellan, commenting on a media report.
New York daily Newsday reported on Monday that U.S. President George W. Bush
rebuffed the Saudi initiative because the force would not have been under U.S.
command.
Such a move would raise questions about the Bush administration's repeated
assertions that it was eager to have other countries send troops to Iraq to ease
the burden on American forces, it said.
Saudi Arabia announced it hoped to organize such a force in July during a
visit by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
But several Muslim countries, including Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan were
cool to the idea, citing the increasing violence in Iraq as well as concerns
about possibly having to serve under U.S. command.
The United Nations was also uncertain whether it wanted its staff protected
by a force of one religious group rather than its usual multilateral approach,
U.N. sources said.
But Newsday said Crown Prince Abdullah personally lobbied Bush to agree to
deploy a unit of several hundred troops from Muslim nations to help prepare for
January elections.
Washington, the newspaper said, turned down the proposal because the plan
would have meant troops being under U.N. control rather than the control of U.S.
commanders who lead the multinational force now intended to ensure security in
Iraq.
The question of control "was a serious issue for the commanders of the
multinational force," Newsday quoted an unnamed White House spokesman as saying.
A senior U.S. administration official in Washington blamed the Iraqi
government for the plan's failure, saying it did not want troops from
neighboring countries deployed inside Iraq.
In addition, the plan contained no real commitment by other Arab nations to
contribute troops to the force, said the official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity.
But Iraqi officials said they had already worked out a deal with the Saudis
ruling out the involvement of any Iraqi neighbor, Newsday said.
The Saudi crown prince discussed the plan with Bush by telephone on July 28,
the newspaper said.
In Riyadh, a Saudi government official said he was unaware the plan had been
blocked. His government's role had been confined to making the proposal in July,
the official said.
The United Nations is under heavy pressure from the United States, Iraq and
other countries to send senior staff for the Iraq elections, due by Jan. 30. All
international staff were pulled out last year after two bomb attacks on U.N.
Baghdad headquarters in Baghdad.
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