US forcing Arab nations to send troops to Iraq, says report

US forcing Arab nations to send troops to Iraq, says report
Agence France-Presse
Beirut, July 14

Saudi Arabia, under constant US pressure to dispatch troops to Iraq, is trying to enlist the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to help defuse any resulting negative fall-out at home, a Lebanese newspaper said on Monday.
Al-Kifah al-Arabi, which quoted "Arab diplomatic sources" in a report from Cairo, said US President George W. Bush insisted at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in June that Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia send troops to Iraq as part of an international force to maintain security in Iraqi towns, to stop US soldiers from coming under attack from Iraqi resistance fighters.

The newspaper said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told Bush that it would be difficult for him to comply with the request, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah asked for time to think about it, and King Abdullah II of Jordan agreed on condition that other Arab countries also contribute to the peacekeeping force.

US pressure on Riyadh puts Saudi Arabia between a rock and a hard place, the diplomatic sources said, given that Saudi Arabia, trying to improve its relations with Washington, cannot refuse, but by accepting, it risks sparking a domestic crisis in the kingdom.
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