Powell welcomes Saudi plan on Iraq
From Elise Labott
CNN
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi on Thursday accepted an invitation from U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to visit the White House soon and praised a Saudi plan to send Muslim troops to Iraq.
At a joint news conference, Allawi said the Saudi initiative would help unify Arab leaders against Islamic terrorism.
"I call upon the leaders of the Islamic countries and the Arab countries to close ranks because this is really, basically it's our fight," Allawi said. "Those [terrorists] are people who claim to be part of Islam, they are not. They claim to be part of the Arabs, they are not."
He said he "accepted with gratitude" an invitation from President Bush to visit the United States in the near future. His meeting with Powell comes a day after at least 118 people died in widespread violence across Iraq. (Full story)
Under the proposed Saudi plan, any new Arab and Muslim troops would supplement coalition troops, not replace them, but could reduce the need for so many troops as security is restored, according to a State Department official. The Saudi initiative would involve Muslim nations that do not border Iraq, meaning Saudi troops would not be included.
At the news conference, Powell said the United States welcomes the plan, but noted there are many unanswered questions regarding who would lead the force and what role they would play.
"We will be in more intensive discussions on the basis of the Saudi initiative with Muslim countries to see if more support cannot be generated," Powell said. "The Saudis have indicated some conditions that would have to be met, as they see it, with respect to chain of command arrangements, with respect to whether the troops would be as an off-set to existing coalition troops in the country."
Powell said the forces could "participate in the work in Iraq either as part of the coalition effort or ... perhaps to provide security, facilities or protection to the U.N."
He said, "We do welcome the Saudi initiative and we'll be examining it very closely." The United States is unlikely to cede command of the multinational force before American troops leave Iraq.
Later on Thursday, the Iraqi delegation arrived in the United Arab Emirates, where Iraqi Planning Minister Mehdi al-Hafidh told reporters that the Saudis told them they are willing to invest $1 billion in Iraq.
The State Department official said other questions remain, such as whether another U.N. resolution was needed and whether other countries would be interested.
On Wednesday, Powell discussed the plan with Saudi officials, including Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.
But a senior Saudi official told reporters the government would not be discussing the plan if there wasn't a good possibility of it materializing. Arab sources tell CNN that talks on the plan are already under way with the United Nations. Those talks deal with the parameters that would apply, they said, and details would still need to be worked out.
Insurgents in Iraq have warned Arab nations that they would oppose Muslim troops just as they currently oppose Western troops in the country.
Adel Al-Jubair, foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, said in addition to the "tremendous" desire in the Arab and Muslim world at large to help the Iraqi people, the proposal also serves Saudi interests.
"We are doing this because instability in Iraq has a negative impact on Saudi Arabia and stability in Iraq has a very positive impact on Saudi Arabia," Al-Jubair said. "We want to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible."
A senior Saudi official told reporters Riyadh has already been in touch with Iraqi officials, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, and key Arab and Muslim states over the past several weeks. Arab sources say those countries include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco and India -- many of which have been sent letters by Allawi asking for troops, but which have balked at U.S. requests in the past.
Before arriving in Saudi Arabia, Powell visited Egypt, which renewed its offer to help train Iraqi security forces. He heads to Kuwait later Thursday. (Powell: Egypt, U.S. ties strong)
