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Posted on 11/24/2004 5:59:26 PM PST by Ironfocus
The Iranian, Egyptian and Syrian governments accused the Unied States on Tuesday of using excessive force to quell rebels in Iraq.
The Syrian foreign minister, Farouk al-Sharaa, said at an international conference in Sharm el-Sheikh that although condemning terrorism, "we cannot over-emphasise the need to refrain from shelling civilians, destroying cities and killing innocent people".
More than 20 countries and organisations, including the US, Britain, the United Nations, and Iraq's neighbours took part in the one-day meeting on the future of Iraq at the Egyptian Red Sea resort.
The Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, criticised "the use of excessive force and bombing of towns" but also condemned the insurgents for kidnappings and other acts of violence, saying: "Such acts will help prolong the presence of foreign troops in Iraq."
The Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, expressed dismay at the American tactics, even though Washington counts Egypt as an ally.
"The policy of violence and intimidation and the overuse of force ... will only lead to further divisions, damage and destruction," he said.
In spite of the criticism, the overall tone of the conference was supportive of the interim Iraqi government. The closing communique condemned "all acts of terrorism in Iraq", urged the interim government to "deal resolutely" with the insurgents and supported the elections to an interim national assembly planned for January 30.
It was a largely formulaic statement, skipping over the international community's continuing differences on Iraq, including the withdrawal of the coalition.
The most interesting developments were informal, particularly a rare private discussion between the US and Iranian governments over dinner.
The outgoing US secretary of state, Colin Powell, was seated with the Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi. Relations between the two governments have been strained since the Iranian revolution in 1979 and, more recently, over Iran's alleged covert nuclear weapons programme.
The foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who also met Kharrazi, said the international support for the Iraqi elections was helpful. He predicted that successful elections would help reduce violence.
The communique proposed that non-violent opposition groups which had not been invited to Sharm-el-Sheikh should meet before the elections, to widen the participation.
Bahrain offered to host the meeting but the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, said he would prefer it to be held in Baghdad.
He also defended the role of the coalition forces which were, he said, "essential to help secure necessary conditions for voting and to support our security forces in stabilising the country".
The communique called on Iraq's neighbours to "intensify cooperation" to control Iraq's borders. The US has repeatedly accused Syria of allowing insurgents free movement across its border.
Powell, who held talks with his Syrian counterpart, said on Tuesday: "The Syrians have taken some steps recently, but we think there's a lot more they can do."
He was asked at a press conference about US soldiers entering mosques, especially in Fallujah, which has angered many Muslims.
He said the US understood the sanctity of mosques, but the insurgents had stored weapons in them. US soldiers had removed these weapons so that the mosques could again be used as places of worship, he said.
Some Arab countries, including Egypt, tried to extend the conference to the Israeli-Palestinian question, but that issue was discussed at a separate meeting.
The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said afterwards that the Palestinian presidential election was a good opportunity to revive the peace process.
We will use any amount of force we please, in fact, in my opinion we have not used the enough force, erring on the not enough side to keep the civilians and infrastructure in one piece.
Who cares what these towel heads think! Go President Bush!
Oh, and what these terrorists in Iraq did to Paul Johnson wasn't excessive force? It's always a one-way street with these Islamofacists....
More proof that we are being successful in Iraq.
We haven't PURPOSEFULLY beheaded innocent men and women. Seems to me the outrage, as it always is with Moslems, is MISPLACED!
Sorry I appear to be yelling, it's not at you....this subject just makes me angry.
No problem, gets me angry too. I see them as little dogs yapping at the gate, ready to leave a wet trail as soon as you look at them...
It must be working, then.
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Awesome
"Iran joins outcry against 'excessive force' in Iraq"
You ain't seen nothing yet...keep popping off and you'll be next.
Let me get this straight. These are the people that shoot women in soccer stadiums for half time entertainment and subject teenage girls to death by stoning and we're using excessive force?
Get real!
Regards,
GtG
PS Pile it on, we must be doing something right.
More evidence that virtually all Muslim and Arab leaders have the mentality of children (though unfortunately the can be more dangerous when they fund, arm, and protect terrorists). Hearing the leaders of these 3 pathetic Islamo-fascist governments whine and whimper in this way would be hilarious if it were not so outrageous. When Syria had a problem with the "Muslim Brotherhood" Assad, Sr. simply called in the artillery and leveled a large portion of the town, killing up to 30,000 without bothering to risk troops going door-to-door.
The US forces continually take extraordinary risks to minimize dangers to civilians (as though there are any left in terrorist haven Falluja), and still we have to listen to the whining and bleating of thug leaders who would never expect their troops to take any similar risks putting down a terrorist uprising.
To the Islamofascist mind hitting those 2 airliners with those skyscrapers was a use of excessive force. Lets really show them what excessive force is by placing perpetual glow lites around their capitols. And no weeds will grow there either.
Selfish creeps. I guess they want the excessive force all for themselves.
Seriously. The day the US starts taking its humanitarian values from Egypt, Syria and Iran is the day the world has turned upside down. What a joke.
How about outcry against worldwide Islamic butcherings? Whine and snivel and play the victim.
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