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Bahrain Stands with U.S. on Iraq, Libya Denounces War Plans
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Bush listens to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa in the Oval Office
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WASHINGTON,
February 4 (News Agencies) – U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed
Bahrain's King Hamad to the White House Monday, February 3, and said the
monarch was a "great friend" who agrees that Iraq must be
disarmed by force if it flouts a U.N. ultimatum.
"His
majesty ... like me, hopes that we're able to resolve this issue
peacefully in Iraq," Bush said during a joint appearance in the
Oval Office ahead of their meeting and a subsequent dinner.
"But
if Saddam Hussein does not disarm, for the sake of peace and security,
for not only the people in the region but people here in America, we
will go in and disarm him," Bush said, adding that the king was
"incredibly supportive" of that position.
Bahrain
is the home base of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet which oversees the
application of the international embargo imposed on Iraq in 1990
following its invasion of Kuwait. Some 5,000 Americans, mostly military,
live in the kingdom.
"I
came all the way from Bahrain to here, really, to show this warm
relationship and to support the President in what he's doing for our
stability and progress," the monarch said.
Earlier,
the king met with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney at the White House,
according to a Cheney spokeswoman, who did not specify the focus of
their conversation.
"America
has got a great friend in the kingdom of Bahrain," said Bush, who
has vowed to united a "coalition of the willing" to strip
Baghdad of any nuclear, chemical or biological weapons if Iraq does not
disarm peacefully.
The
king also thanked Bush for his "clear objectives for security and
development, especially in our region. This is something that we really
need at this level of leadership."
The
monarch's meeting with Bush was rescheduled from Tuesday, when the U.S.
leader is heading to Texas to attend a memorial service honoring the
seven crew members killed when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated
on Saturday.
On
the other hand, another Arab Leader, Libyan President Kadhafi warned
Monday that terrorists would retaliate and be victorious if the United
States attacked Iraq and that Saddam Hussein would rather die than leave
his country for exile.
"Terrorism
will be victorious if you follow this road, the road of war,"
Kadhafi told reporters in the Ethiopian capital after the first summit
of the African Union when asked about the possible consequences of such
a conflict.
Kadhafi
stressed however that he counted himself among those opposed to
terrorism.
"Don't
believe the lie that says that Saddam Hussein would leave Iraq. He would
stay or he would die in Iraq," he added, when asked if Libya would
be prepared to welcome the Iraqi leader should he decide to go into
exile.
"He
has no reason to leave Iraq," said Kadhafi, speaking through an
interpreter. The Libyan leader was speaking from inside a tent set up on
the lawn of the luxurious Sheraton Hotel amid a throng of security
people.
"The
whole world is against war, including the American people, and the
allies of America..," he said.
Kadhafi
said that when the world had sided with United States when it was
fighting terrorism.
"But
when the objectives of America changed and became otherwise, it has
become a bilateral issue against America and its foes," he said.
"It
is a loss to all of us, because all of us were against terror, but now
all of us are against America because of the Iraqi issue including the
American people and the allies of America," he said.
"How
did we change the course like that? We were talking about (Osama) bin
Laden and suddenly we were talking about Saddam Hussein."
U.S
President George W. Bush has said he will give Iraq "weeks, not
months" to prove it has no weapons of mass destruction, failing
which he was willing to order an invasion with or without an explicit UN
mandate.
The
United States, Britain and Australia are assembling a massive force in
the Gulf south of Iraq.
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