Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak urged Wednesday the United States and Britain to withdraw their forces from Iraq as soon as possible and start building a legitimate government to replace the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein.
Mubarak said the United Nations should be involved in rebuilding Iraq and restoring civil rule to the war-battered Arab nation. "We reaffirm the need for a concerted international effort to speed up the formation of a legitimate government chosen by the Iraqi people that represents all trends," Mubarak said in a televised speech.
Mubarak, speaking on the 21st anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from Egypt's Sinai peninsula, said U.S. and British forces must quickly restore law and order in Iraq and then "end occupation and withdraw the invading forces as soon as possible."
Mubarak's remarks came after he met with a group of Saddam's opponents, led by former Iraqi Foreign Minister Adnan Pachachi, to discuss plans for postwar Iraq.
On Tuesday, Jordan's King Abdullah II said postwar Iraq should be run by those who lived and suffered under Saddam and that exiled Iraqi opposition groups should have only a minor role in running the country. Abdullah said Iraqis would be suspicious of exiled leaders. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
