Arab League refuses troops to Iraq

Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - The India Express
Arab League refuses troops to Iraq

Cairo, August 5: Arab foreign ministers ruled out a US request to send troops to Iraq when they met today to discuss the Iraqi situation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Arab League officials said.
After a preliminary meeting late on Monday, League secretary-general Amr Moussa said the question of sending Arab troops to Iraq ?'?'will not feature on the agenda of Tuesday's meeting,'' dashing hopes in Washington.

?'?'Certain countries wanted to discuss the matter, but as there was no unanimous decision, it was struck off,'' an Arab official said on condition of anonymity.

?'?'It is not an acceptable topic for discussion while Iraq is under foreign occupation,'' he added. The League also decided not to recognise Iraq's US-appointed Governing Council and instead will wait until post-Saddam Hussein Iraq is led by an elected government, Moussa said. Though the Arab League welcomed the Council, it said it should pave the way for a legitimate government.

?'?'From the American point of view, it would be ideal to have Arab troops in Iraq... It implies Arab recognition of the occupation to the extent of helping secure its continuation,'' wrote editorial writer Fahmi Howeidi in the Egyptian Government daily Al-Ahram.

Meanwhile, the US Marines named the size of the foreign forces replacing them in September under Polish command in Najaf, Karbala, Babil, Wasit and Qadisiyah. The core foreign contingents will be 3,200 Dutch, 2,500 Poles, 1,644 Ukrainians, 1,321 Spanish, 1,130 Italians and 886 Thais, the Marines said in a statement.

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