Arab world getting very nervous .. [snicker]
ArKLyte
AL chief warns of Iraq war spilling over
ATHENS, March 31: Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa expressed
concern here on Monday that the Iraq war could spill over and
destabilize the entire Middle East.
"The day Baghdad falls, is the beginning of the real war... with a lot
of violence and confrontation," Mussa said in an interview on Greek
state television estimating that extremist groups will find fertile
ground throughout the region.
"They (the United States and Britain) have miscalculated... they are
going to let the genie out of the jar," he said, adding that the war
against Iraq will be long.
"The perception we see on television every day with Baghdad being hit
around the clock is hard for any Arab to swallow," Mussa explained
after meeting Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, whose country
holds the EU presidency. But Mr Mussa also said the Arab League has no
concrete plans to back Syria, accused by the United States of
supporting terrorist groups and Saddam Hussein. Mussa said the case
was already covered by the Arab league's existing anti-war
resolutions.
"We are consulting. We cannot talk about a certain, concrete
initiative at this moment. The position of the Arab League was very
clear against war in Iraq. It will be the same in case there is any
attack against any Arab country".
Mr Mussa also aired his distrust regarding a US-backed proposal for a
roadmap to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. "We've heard all that
before," he said in the interview, adding that there will be no
stability in the region without a settlement.
Mr Papandreou said the European Union has focused efforts on
humanitarian assistance for Iraq rather than finding a political
solution at this moment. "We all see a real human drama unfolding in
Iraq," Papandreou said.
IRAQI FM'S WARNING: There will be more suicide attacks on US-led
forces in Iraq, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said in an
interview with the US television network ABC.
In Mr Aziz said people being threatened by an invasion had "the right
to fight by all means" to defend themselves.
"When you fight an invader by whatever means available to you, you are
not a terrorist, you are a hero," he told ABC News, describing them as
"freedom fighters against invaders, against colonialists, against
imperialists - they are freedom fighters and heroes and we are proud
of them."
Speaking in Baghdad, Iraqi General Hazem Al-Rawi said more than 4,000
volunteers had come from every Arab nation, ready to follow in the
footsteps of an Iraqi officer who killed four US soldiers in a suicide
attack in southern Iraq on Saturday.-AFP
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"Ah yes, we must mollify angry fanatics who seek our destruction
because otherwise .. they might get mad and seek our destruction."
- Ann Coulter 9/26/2002