Bolton: Saudi King 'Mistaken' Over Legality Of US troops In Iraq

by S-Q @ 10:02 AM MDT

© 2007 Stephen Pitt
Energy Merchants

Raw Story/AFP

"With all due respect to the King, it's a mistake to characterise the US presence in Iraq as illegal," Bolton said in an interview with the US-based Arabic language Al-Hurra television station.

King Abdullah, a key ally of Washington in the Middle East, described the US occupation of Iraq as "illegitimate" at a meeting of Arab leaders last week in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

"In beloved Iraq, blood is being shed among brothers in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation and ugly sectarianism threatens civil war," Abdullah said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Saudi Arabia's US ambassador specifically to discuss the remark.

Bolton said the US was in Iraq at the invitation of its government and its presence was further sanctioned by a United Nations Security Council resolution.

"I hope he (King Abdullah) finds an opportunity to correct that remark in the very near future," Bolton said.

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing

Midnight At The Oasis!!

by S-Q @ 11:06 AM MDT




Midnight at the oasis
Send your camel to bed
Shadows paintin' our faces
Traces of romance in our heads
Heaven's holdin' a half-moon
Shinin' just for us


Reuters
By Wafa Amr and Andrew Hammond
28 Mar 2007 15:00:18 GMT

RIYADH, March 28 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah called on Wednesday for an end to the international blockade on the Palestinian people and told a summit of Arab leaders that sectarian violence was driving Iraq towards civil war.

In his speech to Arab heads of state at a two-day meeting in his capital, the king called on Arabs to overcome their disputes and unify to face dangers threatening them in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

"It has become necessary to end the unjust blockade imposed on the Palestinian people as soon as possible so that the peace process can move in an atmosphere far from oppression and force," the king said.