Posted on 07/28/2002 4:27:01 AM PDT by kattracks
KUWAIT, July 28 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab states believe that any U.S. military strike against Iraq must topple President Saddam Hussein who would otherwise emerge stronger, a Kuwaiti minister said in comments published on Sunday.
Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told Kuwaiti newspapers that a possible U.S. "strike must be a knock out which leads to the downfall of the regime".
"This is the point of view of Kuwait and the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Falling short of such a target will give the head of that regime additional strength which is not appropriate for the stability and security of the region," he added.
The GCC states -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman -- have officially signed on to an Arab stand opposed to a U.S.-led attack on Iraq.
Kuwait has said it was not party to any planning to implement Washington's "regime change" policy in Iraq which invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990. The U.S.-led Gulf War ended Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1991.
The talk of a possible U.S. strike on Iraq is causing concern in Kuwait where residents fear retaliation by Baghdad and an influx by hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees.
Several state bodies have in recent days held meetings to review measures needed to deal with the impact of a U.S. attack.
Kuwaiti concerns include the possible use of Iraqi chemical weapons against the nearest concentration of U.S. troops. In addition to warplanes and heavy military hardware, the United States has ground troops training close to the border with Iraq as part of ongoing exercises since the Gulf War.
((Ashraf Fouad, Kuwait Newsroom, +965 240 8945, fax +965 241 2459, kuwait.newsroom@reuters.com))
© Reuters Limited
I think that in this instance the Arabs and President Bush are on the same page, that is definitely our intent and we will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail in that mission. Let's Roll.
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