Iraqi official: Mubarak supports Iraqi stability
Egypt-Iraq, Politics, 11/14/2005

Egypt's State Information Agency said that "Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwafaq Rubaiee on Sunday said that President Hosni Mubarak reiterated during their meeting today his keenness on supporting Iraq and protecting its stability and unity."

The report said: The President highlighted the importance of cooperating with the Iraqi government in the various political and media fields and asserted Egypt's readiness to train the Iraqi security and police forces. Rubaiee said.

He said that he carried to Mubarak an invitation from Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to visit Iraq noting that such a visit would be historic for two reasons, first because of Egypt's weight in the Arab region and second because it would encourage Arab presence in Iraq.

...Talks also covered border infiltrations of suicide bombers into Iraq from Syria. Rubaiee said that while Iraq did not want to stir up trouble with any of its neighbours, it would no longer stand hand-folded seeing suicide bombers cross into its borders from neighboring Syria.

He said that he asked President Mubarak to intervene with Damascus to have Syria tighten security on its borders.

The report said "Iraqi National Security Adviser Rubaiee said that Iraq wished to benefit from Egyptian expertise in fighting religious fanaticism and terror."

The report said: he informed President Mubarak of the Iraqi government's plans to sign an agreement with foreign troops in the country to create an atmosphere convenient to transfer security responsibilities from the Multinational Forces to Iraqi security forces. According to Rubaiee, under the agreement foreign troops are to withdraw from 12 of the 18 Iraqi governorates, thus reducing foreign military presence in Iraq.

He said that the agreement could only materialize after the building of the Iraqi forces and security and intelligence agencies.

Rubaiee predicts that by mid next year more than 30,000 foreign troops will be withdrawn from Iraq.

Hopes are that 60,000 or so multinational troops will be out of Iraq by the end of next year, bringing down to less than 100,000 the number of foreign troops deployed in the country by the beginning of 2007.

The Iraqi National Security Adviser said he discussed Iraq's future security, reconstruction and economic plans at his meeting with President Mubarak.

"We discussed Iraq's political process and the country's determination to build a democratic state, where power could be handed down from one person to another peacefully," he said.

He said that Iraq's return to the Arab and Islamic nation through Egypt's gate was in the interest of his country and of the Arab and Muslim nations, since this would help restore the balance between the Arab and foreign presence in the country and end regional threats to Iraq's national security.

Asked about continued foreign presence in Iraq and whether Iraq was on the brink of a civil war, he said that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq depended largely on Iraq's security conditions and the ability of the Iraqi security forces to assume its responsibilities.

He asserted that so far there was no specific timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.

The visiting Iraqi National Security Adviser downplayed reports that a civil war was looming in Iraq. "There are no grounds for the outbreak of a civil war in our country," he said of al-Qaeda's number one man in Iraq Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi and of toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of attempting to ignite a civil war in the country. But so far all their attempts have been futile, he said.

The idea of having Arab and Islamic forces replace foreign troops withdrawing from Iraq was not up for discussion. Asked about Iraq's relations with Iran, he repeated his government's desire not to antagonize any of its neighbouring countries. He also asserted that the Iraqis categorically reject any Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs. There is no evidence implicating Iran in supporting or exporting terrorism to Iraq, according to Rubaiee.

Previous Stories:
  Abul-Gheit: Iraqi issue complicated   (10/12/2005)
  Abul-Gheit expresses Egypt's concern over spiralling violence in Iraq   (10/3/2005)
  Abul-Gheit denies knowledge of talks on return of Egypt's mission to Baghdad   (7/30/2005)

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