One of the key sections of the Iraq Study Group report was devoted to the idea of involving Iraq's neighbors in the pacification process. Today the Saudi government
announced their support for President Bush's latest proposal.
“We agree with the full objectives set by the new plan,” Saud said at a joint news conference in Riyadh with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is traveling in the region selling Bush’s plan. “We are hoping these objectives can be accomplished, but the means are not in our hands. They are in the hands of the Iraqis themselves.”
In addition they announced that in the event President Bush's plan should fail they are prepared to send troops into Anbar province to protect the Sunni population there.
The Saudi government has signaled in the past that it would oppose an early withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, fearing it would leave minority Sunni Muslims at the mercy of Shiite Muslim militias.
The Saudis’ primary concern is the Sunni population of Anbar province, the senior U.S. official. The official said the Saudis had informed Washington that they were considering a plan to send troops into the province if Bush’s plan failed.
The Saudi's also pledged not to intervene in the ongoing disputes between the US and Iran despite a visit from a high ranking Iranian diplomat who complained about the American force build-up. This makes me wonder how much of the Saudi's new willingness to send troops into Iraq is based on concern for the Iraqi Sunni population and how much is a counter move against an Iranian build-up.
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