Jordan warns against explosion of Iraq situation
Jordan, Politics, 2/2/1998

In a letter to Crown Prince Hassan, King Hussein of Jordan, recovering from an illness in London, wrote "We were clear with the USA Secretary of State Madeleine Albright." They discussed the Middle East peace process and the Iraqi Crisis.

"Mrs. Albright said that President Clinton was determined to continue his efforts along with the administration to get peace," the king said. "Palestinian- Israeli track would be focused upon," he added.

"The US provided both sides with ideas," he wrote, to accept them would lead to moving the peace process in the right direction, he added.

"The USA will commit to its obligations," he said, for any party to refute those ideas would burden it with responsibility of the breakdown of the process, he added.

Concerning the current Iraqi crisis, "Mrs Albright reaffirmed that neither the president, American administration nor any one wanted to harm Iraqi people," King Hussein said. They all feel their sufferings and search for ways to ease them, he added.

"They all support Iraqi integrity, but the USA will not allow any party to defy the international administration," the king said.

The US, "depends upon diplomacy to solve the crisis" he said, but if it failed, "then there will be no way other than using effective force to prohibit a state that had used mass destruction weapons," he stated.

"It must be prevented from developing those weapons. It must be allowed not to use them again, posses them or obtain the ability to develop them in future," he added.

The leadership in Iraq tried to cheat when it gambled that the UN Security Council members would be divided among themselves concerning the use of military force to stop it, the king added.

Iraqi, "leadership will pay heavily for that." he said. "I recalled my last meetings with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, before the Gulf War, following his invasion of Kuwait," Hussein said, "I also remembered the Arab summit meetings which preceded the catastrophe. The president, Saddam Hussein, then, focused on an obligation," he wrote.

"No Arab country should use weapons against any other Arab nation," he said. Saddam Hussein "requested that all Arabs to commit to confront, militarily, the state that breaches," this principle, the king said.

Saddam's,"last words upon bidding farewell to me at the airport, I remember. He said: 'Listen, Abu-Abdallah, all the universe is against us. God is with us. We will be triumphant. Don't worry and don't tire yourself,'" the king said.

"The disaster took place, we have been suffering for Iraqi people." he said. "We tried hard to advise his leadership but vainly." the King said.

for his part, Jordanian Foreign Minister Dr. Fayez al-Taraunah, in a statement said that his country was worried about the development of the crisis between Iraq and UNSCOM.

"This crisis will result in dangerous escalation of relations with the UN Security Council," he said. Jordan adopted the principle of easing disputes via political measures, he added.

"We call for the use of negotiations and not confrontation," he added in his statement. "We call upon all sides related to the current crisis to continue their diplomatic efforts and to execute the UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

"The execution of these resolutions should lead to the lifting of sanctions against the Iraqi people." he reiterated.

Previous Stories:
  Jordanian economy would face huge losses if US attacks Iraq   (1/31/1998)
  King Hussein meets with US secretary of state   (1/31/1998)
  No hopes lifted by Albright's visit Saturday   (1/30/1998)

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