JEDDAH, 7 January 2007 — Saudi Arabia has urged the United States to change course in Iraq and warned against the break-up of the country along ethnic or religious lines amid growing sectarian violence.
“The coalition forces in Iraq should review the aims of their presence and the strategy of remaining there because the question that should be asked is: What have these forces achieved since their arrival in Iraq?” Crown Prince Sultan said in comments published by Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily.
“Has the strategy that these forces are using achieved anything positive? Are there strategic alternatives that should be considered as the existing situation in Iraq deteriorates?” the crown prince said. The comments come as President George W. Bush prepares to announce a shift in America’s policy on Iraq next week.
On Friday, Bush shuffled the US military commanders responsible for Iraq, but Democrats, who now control Congress, are resisting a proposal to raise troop levels in Iraq. Bush may propose a temporary increase of up to 20,000 troops to try to stabilize a country gripped by sectarian violence. Saudi Arabia is worried that such violence could lead to the disintegration of Iraq into Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish regions.
“We have warned and continue (to warn) against calls made every now and then for the partition of Iraq under the pretext of (securing) the rights of sects or the freedom of minorities,” the crown prince said. He also called on Iraqis to launch a national dialogue to end the bloodshed and urged Iraq’s neighbors to stop meddling in its affairs.
“There are a series of factors affecting the deterioration of the security and political situation in Iraq. Here, we call on some neighboring countries to... stop backing sects and movements in Iraq,” he said.
He said Saudi Arabia had consistently refrained from interfering in Iraq’s internal affairs and warned of the dangers of outside interference.
“Being against the policy of interference, the Kingdom did not, and will not, interfere in internal Iraqi affairs, giving its people a chance to find ways out of the current crisis,” he added.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki yesterday threatened to “review” relations with countries which criticized the bungled execution of Saddam Hussein, saying the hanging was an internal matter.
“The Iraqi government could be obliged to review its relations with any state that fails to respect the wish of the Iraqi people,” said Maliki in his first reaction to Saddam’s hanging in Baghdad on Dec. 30.
“We consider the execution of the dictator an internal affair that concerns only the Iraqi people,” said Maliki, speaking at a ceremony on the 86th anniversary of the Iraqi Army. He slammed those who criticized the execution. “We find that this conduct is inciting sedition and flagrant interference in the internal affairs of Iraq and abuses feelings of the families of the victims,” Maliki said.
A number of international leaders have criticized Saddam’s hanging, saying it appeared more like a sectarian lynching than a court-directed punishment after a guard taunted the former president in his final moments.
The strongest criticism came from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who said that the execution had made Saddam a “martyr.” Echoing Mubarak’s view was German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who warned in an interview that Saddam could gain iconic status after his execution.
