US rejects Saudi plan for Muslim force in Iraq

The White House has claimed the Iraqi government and US military commanders have both rejected a Saudi plan for an all-Muslim…

The White House has claimed the Iraqi government and US military commanders have both rejected a Saudi plan for an all-Muslim force to protect United Nations election staff in Iraq.

"The Iraqi interim government had some real concerns about having troops from a neighbouring country inside Iraq. The multinational commanders also had some concerns about forces operating outside the chain of command structure," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, commenting on a media report.

New York daily Newsdayreported yesterday that US President George W. Bush rebuffed the Saudi initiative because the force would not have been under US command.

Such a move would raise questions about the Bush administration's repeated assertions that it was eager to have other countries send troops to Iraq to ease the burden on US forces, it said.

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Saudi Arabia announced it hoped to organise such a force in July during a visit by US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

But several Muslim countries, including Indonesia, Egypt and Pakistan were cool on the idea, citing the increasing violence in Iraq as well as concerns about possibly having to serve under US command.

The United Nations was also uncertain whether it wanted its staff protected by a force of one religious group rather than its usual multilateral approach, UN sources said.

But Newsdaysaid Crown Prince Abdullah personally lobbied Mr Bush to agree to deploy a unit of several hundred troops from Muslim nations to help prepare for January elections.

Washington, the newspaper said, turned down the proposal because the plan would have meant troops being under UN control rather than the control of US commanders who lead the multinational force now intended to ensure security in Iraq.