Kuwait will not accept to serve as a launching pad for a US attack on former occupier Iraq, a Kuwaiti minister said in remarks published on Friday.
"The mission of US troops deployed in Kuwait is well known... It is to defend our land and national sovereignty... Kuwait does not agree to an attack on Iraq being launched from its territory," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah told the daily Al-Rai Al-Aam.
"There is no truth to press reports that Washington has concluded intensive negotiations with Kuwait about using its territory and airspace to carry out an attack on Iraq and topple (President) Saddam Hussein," he said.
"Nothing of the sort happened," the Kuwaiti minister said, referring to a news report that the United States has been in contact with four regional states, including Kuwait, to use their territories and airspace for an attack on Iraq.
"The United States has not said it would use Kuwaiti territory to launch an attack on Iraq. We (heard) nothing from (Washington) in this regard," Sheikh Mohammad added.
Jordan on Thursday also dismissed a stream of foreign press reports suggesting it could be used as a base for a US strike on Iraq, while Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal reiterated that Arab states opposed such a strike.
Iraq occupied Kuwait for seven months before being expelled by a US-led coalition in February 1991. Some 10,000 US troops are currently stationed in Kuwait.
US President George W. Bush this week renewed a pledge to use "all tools" at his disposal to oust Saddam Hussein, whom Washington accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction.
Why's that? In the Middle Eastern polls I've seen, the Kuwatis lead the Arab world in their hatred of the United States. The Saudi's are #2. We are far more liked by the Iranian people than the by Kuwatis.
The general rule of thumb is: the more we support a Middle Eastern government, the more we are despised by the people. Hence, the recent pro-American demonstrations in Iran.