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Arab leaders seek unified response to U.S.-Iraqi conflict
September 7, 1996
Web posted at: 8:15 p.m. EDT (0015 GMT)RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Foreign ministers from the six oil-rich Persian Gulf nations are trying to decide how to react to the retaliatory air strikes launched against Iraq last week by the United States. They met Saturday, and planned to convene again Sunday.
Most are perturbed with Washington's unilateral decision to attack Iraq, but are just as concerned about maintaining good relations with their powerful Western ally.
"The American action, we think, is not completely justified but we understand," said Foreign Minister Hamad Al Thany of Qatar, one of the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The council was seeking a unified stance during the two-day meeting. Some members did agree to support the U.S. decision to expand the southern no-fly zone in Iraq, which is off-limits to Iraqi military flights.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein publicly asked council members to condemn Washington's air strikes.
Fears of alienation
The GCC members -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates -- together own about 50 percent of the world's oil reserves. But while the countries are economically powerful, analysts say they need military assistance from Western forces.
The United States launched missile attacks against Iraq last week after Iraqi troops joined one Kurdish faction, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, in fighting last weekend against another Kurdish faction, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The U.S. struck military targets in southern Iraq.
The U.S. response to Iraqi troop movements appeared to catch many in the region off guard. Gulf leaders are seeking a balance between U.S. protection and what some consider to be U.S. intervention in Arab affairs.
Saudi Arabia refused to let the U.S. military launch the attacks from its soil. While the Saudis don't care much for Iraq, they worry that Washington's actions could set a precedent of Western interference without Arab debate.
"We hope what has happened does not prejudice the territorial integrity of Iraq, and does not cause the work of the international community through the United Nations to become less effective," Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said.
Oman's Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister of state for foreign affairs, told reporters that the council formed a committee to draw up its position on Iraq.
He said after a round of talks late Saturday, the group supported the coalition led by the U.S. which last week extended a no-fly zone in southern Iraq to its 33rd parallel.
U.S.-Saudi relations
The strikes come at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
In the past year, two bomb attacks have struck U.S. military installations in Arabia, and in a rare public display of discord, U.S. officials complained about the Saudis' handling of the investigations. But U.S. and Saudi officials contend that relations between the two countries remain strong.
"We don't think this is a conflict or a contradiction. We think this is something that will be worked out," said Al Faisal.
Members of the GCC joined the U.S.-led multinational force that ended Iraq's 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait and supported further U.S. action against Saddam.
Of the six nations, only Kuwait officially has supported the latest U.S. action in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia has blamed Saddam for the confrontation, Oman has remained silent, and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have criticized the U.S. missile strikes. Bahrain has not made an official declaration, but one of its government-guided newspapers criticized the American action.
The two-day GCC meeting had been scheduled before the U.S. action. Ministers also expected to focus on relations with Iran, terrorism and the stalled Middle East peace process.
Correspondent Gayle Young, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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