Iraq says Cohen in region due to petroleum prices and airbase guarantees

Iraq criticized yesterday the current tour of the US Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, in the Middle East.

Official Iraqi sources pointed out that "the visit came for US electional purposes and it will not be able to cover Washington's failure in toppling the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein."

The sources added that "the US administration builds its foreign policy on containing Iraq in an attempt to change its government especially with approaching the US presidential elections."

The sources pointed out that "Cohen's tour aims at exploiting the new revenues of petroleum which Gulf countries get after the increase in petroleum's prices by convincing them to buy U.S weapons."

Moreover, the sources pointed out that "Cohen has obtained guarantees from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia of continuing the existence of the U.S and British bases in which the air crafts charged of maintaining the (no-fly zone) in south Iraq are locate."