U.S.-led forces in Iraq have taken a former official of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party into custody, U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday.
Ghazi Hammud al Ubaidi, Baath regional chairman in the Kut district, is in custody, the command said in a statement. He is No. 32 on Central Command's list of the 55 most-wanted members of Saddam's regime and the two of hearts on the deck of cards issued to help U.S. soldiers identify regime figures.
Meanwhile, the Saudi foreign minister said Tuesday the kingdom will deal with a future transitional government in Iraq as a first step toward a permanent post-Saddam Hussein administration,
"It is necessary ... to deal with this government because even if you need to send aid, how would you deliver it except through a government agency," Prince Saud al-Faisal said in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
With these remarks, Saudi Arabia is the first Arab nation to publicly say it would acknowledge a transitional government.
"If we can speed up the establishment of a transitional government, the quicker we can set up a (permanent) government and normalize relations with the new Iraq," Prince Saud said in a press conference.
The prince said such a provisional administration would be a major step toward restoring stability in Iraq in the wake of last month's collapse of Saddam's Baath Party regime.
Prince Saud said Saudi Arabia was consulting with the United States about developments in Iraq, including forming a temporary administration. He added that the continuing instability in Iraq "confirms the need for a different idea to the one that did not lead to stability in the region." (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
