- AMMAN, March 10 (Reuters)
- Jordan's King Abdullah said on Sunday that any U.S. attack against Iraq
would have catastrophic repercussions on the oil-rich country and the Middle
East region.
The monarch held talks with a senior envoy of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
in Amman on the eve of a regional tour by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney
that includes stops in Jordan and three other countries bordering Iraq.
"His Majesty...stressed Jordan's rejection of using force against
Iraq," Jordan's state Petra news agency quoted the king as saying
during his meeting with Izzat Ibrahim, vice-chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary
Command Council.
Petra said Abdullah warned "that striking Iraq represents a catastrophe
to Iraq and the region in general and threatens the security and stability
of the region."
Speculation that Iraq is to be the next target of the U.S.-led "war
on terrorism" has mounted since President George W. Bush included
Iraq as part of what he called an "axis of evil" in his State
of the Union address in January.
Cheney is expected in Amman on Tuesday for discussions with King Abdullah
the following day, with Iraq high on the agenda.
Cheney, who will also visit Britain, Kuwait, Egypt, United Arab Emirates,
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Israel and Yemen, wants to
rally support for eliminating what Washington sees as a threat of weapons
of mass destruction posed by Iraq.
The agency said Ibrahim briefed the Jordanian leader on the results of
talks between Iraq and the United Nations last week which aimed to allow
weapon inspectors back into Iraq.
The king expressed hope that the talks, which resume next month, would
resolve all outstanding issues between the two sides and lead to a lifting
of U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
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