Arab leaders tell Rice of concern over Iraq

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait — Arab leaders expressed growing alarm Tuesday that Iraq could fall into all-out civil war, but they offered mostly rhetorical backing for President Bush's plan to try to stabilize the country with more troops and economic aid.

While representatives of eight Arab nations said they welcomed Bush's initiative, their focus in talks here with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on the rapidly worsening sectarian strife in Iraq, which they fear could also engulf them.

"Nine foreign ministers are meeting in Kuwait precisely to prevent Iraq from sliding into a civil war. And that speaks volumes," said Kuwait's foreign minister, Sheik Mohammed al-Sabah.

In a written statement, the group said it supported Bush's speech last week on Iraq and the U.S. commitment to defend the security of the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

The United States also has been urging Arab nations to join it in taking a more robust stance to counter Iran, which has sought to spread its influence into Iraq and which Washington and others accuse of seeking a nuclear weapon.

But the communiqué issued after Rice met with her counterparts in a vast royal conference center here didn't mention Iran and instead called vaguely for countries to respect "the principle of noninterference" in other countries' affairs. A senior Rice aide said that language was aimed at Iran.

The document didn't mention Iran's nuclear program at all. Many Arab nations argue that weapons proliferation can't be discussed without including Israel's nuclear arsenal.

Nations on the Arab side of the Gulf have looked with growing dread on the carnage in Iraq and the way in which the country's majority Shiite Muslims are using their newfound political power. The nations, dominated by Sunni Muslims, also are unsettled at the resurgence of Iran, which is mostly Persian, not Arab, and largely Shiite.

"The more Iraq drags on, then at some point it will affect us all," said Shafeeq Ghabra, a Kuwaiti political-science professor and president of Jasoor Arabiya, a consulting firm. "You can't have all these situations of war and conflict around you and not be affected."

If Iraq fails as a nation and the United States "abdicates" its responsibilities in the Gulf, there could be a "domino effect" on nearby nations, Ghabra said.

Saudi Arabia, particularly, is deeply concerned at what it sees as a determined drive by Shiite Iran to expand its influence into the mainly Sunni Middle East. In an unprecedented meeting in Riyadh on Dec. 26, Saudi King Abdullah met with two senior officials of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah.

When Hezbollah fighters kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July, triggering a monthlong war with Israel, the Saudis had delivered an unusually frank statement, blaming Hezbollah and Iran for "uncalculated adventures."

Hezbollah's stubborn resistance against Israel, however, won it many admirers across the Arab world, making the Saudi leadership look out of step. There are signs that Bush's tough talk and the U.S. military buildup are making Iran nervous.

Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that he sent a message to Saudi King Abdullah proposing that they cooperate in helping stabilize Iraq.

Also on Tuesday, Russia's defense minister said that Moscow has sold air defense missiles to Iran, the first high-level confirmation that their delivery took place despite U.S. complaints.

Additional information from The Christian Science Monitor and The Associated Press