DAMMAM, 29 January 2003 — Saudis and expatriates have called upon the Bush administration to listen to reason and desist from any attack on Iraq.
Opposition to an attack was high when the Bush administration adopted a hostile pose last year, but it increased after Monday’s report to the United Nations by the UN weapons inspectors.
"President Bush should respect the United Nations’ verdict, public opinion in his country and around the world," said Saleh Al-Humaidan, managing director of Al-Youm Publishing Group.
"Any attack on Iraq would be a disaster for the whole region and the economic fallout would be devastating for the world," he said.
"It has been shown that Iraq has no nuclear capability for building weapons of mass destruction. The UN weapons inspectors said this in clear terms and IAEA also verified it. If this is so, what is the logic of attacking Iraq?" Al-Humaidan asked.
Saud Al-Rais, special correspondent of Al-Hayat, said that by attacking Iraq, the US government would be making a mockery of the United Nations and its own people. He said that the United States had no right to determine who rules Iraq.
"If the United States attacks Iraq, it will be setting a very bad precedent and sending a bad signal to the world. By attacking Iraq, the United States itself will be defying the United Nations," he said.
Abdullah Al-Qahtani, a former official of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that any attack on Iraq would ruin the region’s economy. "It took the region almost 10 years to recover from the Gulf War of 1990-91 and now that most countries are on the course of economic stabilization, an attack on Iraq would be a total disaster for them," he said.
Richard Wasner, an American working as a consultant in a petrochemical company, said that if President George Bush decided to go it alone and attack Iraq, then he would be defying his own people and causing the complete alienation of the United States from the international community.
"His war- mongering is nothing but sheer arrogance," Wasner said.
"I can understand the war against terrorism, but singling out Iraq, especially after the UN inspectors’ report, is beyond my comprehension."
Wasner said that any such attack would not only be against regional interests but also against US interests. He said Bush had alienated the Middle East which was once a staunch American ally.
Abdullah Rizvi, marketing manager of a water-proofing company, said the United States had now shown its true colors and its blatant double standards. "On the one hand he is all set to attack Iraq, despite UN inspectors finding no weapons of mass destruction and on the other hand, he continues to be a strong ally of Israel which has proven nuclear capabilities."
Rizvi feels that an attack on Iraq will be a disaster for the world peace. "Only the people of the United States can stop Bush from such an adventure," he said.
Media heap scorn on war plans
Saudi media heaped scorn on US plans to attack Iraq, and at least one daily described the potential onslaught as a neo-colonialism.
"In the name of fighting terrorism, colonialism, mandates and trusteeships are returning to international politics by the world’s superpower, just as was the case after World War One," Al-Watan wrote in an editorial.
"It appears that some major powers are working to pull time backward to the ages of hateful hegemony," the Okaz daily added.
Al-Madinah said Washington appeared to be ready to accept giving inspectors more time, but only to beef up the military buildup in the region for a swift attack on Iraq
"War and peace is not Washington’s decision alone, but the international community as a whole," which should be based on full awareness of the dangers of arms of mass destruction and misery of wars, it said.
