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Saudis consider sending troops to Iraq
Saudi Arabia believes the Iraqi government is not up to the challenge and has told the United States that it is prepared to move its own forces into Iraq should the violence there degenerate into chaos, a senior U.S. official told NBC News on Tuesday.
| We should call them on this. You want to protect the Sunnis? C'mon in, pay the full tab, provide financial assistance to the Maliki government as well. And we'll expect your troops to whack the 'foreign' jihadis in Anbar. |
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal made no effort to mask his skepticism Tuesday about President Bushs proposal to send 21,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq to stem sectarian fighting. We agree with the full objectives set by the new plan, Saud said at a joint news conference in Riyadh with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is traveling in the region selling Bushs plan. We are hoping these objectives can be accomplished, but the means are not in our hands. They are in the hands of the Iraqis themselves.
In fact, Saudi leaders are privately deeply skeptical that the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki could implement the U.S. plan, the senior U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to NBC News Andrea Mitchell, who is traveling with Rice.
The Saudi government has signaled in the past that it would oppose an early withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, fearing it would leave minority Sunni Muslims at the mercy of Shiite Muslim militias. The Saudis primary concern is the Sunni population of Anbar province, the senior U.S. official. The official said the Saudis had informed Washington that they were considering a plan to send troops into the province if Bushs plan failed.
| Because they can't let their cousins come to harm from the near-infidel Shi'a. |
A White House spokesman declined to comment on the report, which Rice downplayed during a briefing for reporters. She said such a scenario was why it was important for the U.S. plan to produce a unified Iraq. Ive briefed the presidents plan on Iraq at all the different stops, Rice told reporters. There is, I think, very good support for the American commitment there, very good support for the objectives the president wants to achieve.
Posted by: Steve White 2007-01-17 |
