Saudi Arabia has proposed to the US that troops from Arab or Muslim nations could be sent to Iraq, Saudi officials said after talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday.
The idea -- somewhat surprising given the reluctance of Muslim and Arab nations to contribute forces so far -- could shore up the US coalition and ease the need for US troops who are battling a fierce insurgency in Iraq.
As described by US and Saudi officials, the proposal could involve contributions of troops from across the Muslim world but not from Iraq's neighbors, which Iraqi officials have said they would not welcome. Saudi Arabia has a long border with Iraq.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told reporters he and Powell had a "preliminary discussion" on the idea but would not say who might contribute or what conditions might be attached.
A senior Saudi official who asked not to be identified told reporters that Riyadh had already discussed the idea with countries that might provide troops, with the Iraqi government and with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He said a UN mandate, from existing resolutions or a new resolution, would be needed.
The US welcomed the idea but a senior US official privately made clear Washington wanted to hear more details about a proposal both sides said was in its infancy.
While US and Saudi officials would not name nations that might be asked to participate, likely candidates could include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria, Morocco and Indonesia.
A deployment by Muslim nations would be a public relations coup for the US, which has seen the US-led coalition in Iraq reduced by the withdrawal of the Philippines, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Honduras.
It could also drag the contributors into the cauldron of Iraqi violence. After a brief lull following the June 28 US handover of sovereignty, guerrillas have stepped up suicide car bombings, assassinations and kidnappings to try to undermine Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the US led coalition.
No Arab nations are now in the US-led coalition.
There are about 160,000 foreign troops in Iraq, roughly 140,000 of them from the US, which invaded last year to topple former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein but now faces a fierce insurgency that it did not anticipate.
Adel al-Jubeir, a foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, said his government put forward the idea in part because of a desire among Arab populations to help Iraq.
"We want to help the Iraqi people ... get back on their feet," Jubeir told reporters.
"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," he said.
The Saudis appear to be betting that Muslim populations will support sending their troops to Iraq if they are seen as replacing coalition forces rather than propping up the US occupation of Iraq.
"The goal that they [the Saudis] have is to help the Iraqis establish security. It's a goal we support and we'll keep talking to them about it," US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS