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October 8, 2004 |
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THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES: WE ARE CONTINUING OUR IMPORTANT ROLE FOR THE SAKE OF SECURITY IN THE REGION. PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ: ISLAM IS THE RELIGION OF TOLERANCE AND MODERATION. SULTAN QABOOS AND PRESIDENT KHATAMI REVIEW THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE REGION. PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON'S CHIEF OF STAFF ADMITS THAT ISRAEL'S PLAN TO WITHDRAW FROM SOME OCCUPIED TERRITORY AIMS TO RULE OUT A PALESTINIAN STATE INDEFINITELY. A NEW AMERICAN REPORT UNVEILS THAT SADDAM HUSSEIN'S WEAPONS WERE NOT DANGEROUS. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz received at his office at Alyamamah palace in Riyadh the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and accompanying delegation. During the meeting, the minister conveyed to the monarch the greetings of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain; Prince Charles of Wales and Prime Minister Tony Blair. On his part, King Fahd sent his greetings to them. During the meeting, they reviewed the overall situations at the international arena, current developments in the Middle East and potentials of cooperation between the two countries. The audience was attended by Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Saud Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Chief of General Intelligence; senior protocol officials; Dr. Nizar Ibn Obeid Madani, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs; and the British Ambassador to the Kingdom Sherard Coles. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived in Riyadh. At the airport, he was received by Assistant Foreign Minister Dr. Nizar Obaid Madani and a number of officials. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz received at Alyamamah palace France's Ambassador to the Kingdom Bernard Poletti. The ambassador conveyed to the monarch the greetings of France's President Jacques Chirac. In turn, the King sent his greetings to the president. The ambassador expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the king for the reception, stressing his country's keenness on developing the strong and distinguished relations between the two countries. The audience was attended by Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, other princes and officials. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz received at his office at Alyamamah palace in Riyadh the Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Kingdom Sayed Khaja Shurahbil Hasan. During the meeting, the ambassador conveyed to the monarch the greetings of President Ayaduddin Ahmed of Bangladesh and Prime Minister Khalida Zia. On his part, King Fahd sent his greetings to them. The meeting was attended by Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Saud Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Chief of General Intelligence, and senior protocol officials. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz received at his office at Alyamamah palace in Riyadh the Ambassador of Norway to the Kingdom Peter Rider. During the meeting, the ambassador conveyed to the monarch the greetings of King Harald V of Norway. On his part, King Fahd sent his greetings to the King. The ambassador expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the king for the reception, stressing his country's keenness on developing the strong and distinguished relations between the two countries in all fields. The audience was attended by Prince Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Saud Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Chief of General Intelligence, and senior protocol officials. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received at his private farm in Aljanadria on the outskirts of the city of Riyadh y the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and accompanying delegation. During the meeting, the minister conveyed to the Crown Prince the greetings of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain; Prince Charles of Wales and Premier Tony Blair. On his part, Crown Prince Abdullah sent his greetings to the British leadership. Crown Prince Abdullah and Straw reviewed the overall situations and developments at the international and regional arenas in addition to potentials of cooperation between the two countries. Then Straw and his delegation had lunch with Crown Prince Abdullah. The audience and the lunch were attended by Prince Badr Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Commander of the National Guard; Prince Nawaf Ibn Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Bandar Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States; Prince Mit'eb Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Military Affairs; Prince Mohammed Ibn Nawaf Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Saudi Ambassador to Italy; Prince Turki Ibn Abdullah Ibn Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court; Prince Fahd Ibn Badr Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Aljoaf Region; Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court; Prince Mansour Ibn Nassir Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Salman Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Ambassador Plenipotentiary at the Saudi embassy in the United States; Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Nawaf Ibn Abdul Aziz; Prince Badr Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz; Dr. Nizar Ibn Obeid Madani and the British Ambassador to the Kingdom Sherard Coles. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue to carry out its important role as regards regional and international stability. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques affirmed that this stance is clear through its contribution to bring about the stability in the oil market and to assist in measures to raise the level of the international economic growth. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques made these remarks in a statement published recently by a leading Spanish newspaper, "El Pais" on the occasion of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also praised the existing bilateral relations between the Kingdom and Spain. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt on the anniversary of the Crossing Day (6th of October). In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the monarch wished President Mubarak continuous health and happiness and the Egyptian people steady progress and prosperity. King Fahd also lauded the existing relations between the two countries and their peoples. Similar cables were sent to President Mubarak from each of Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, and Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, congratulating him on the same occasion. On the other hand, President Hosni Mubarak emphasized in his speech on the occasion of the anniversary of 6th October five main points. The President said: We must exert redoubled efforts in addressing always a number of main pivots in the coming stage. First: Settling the Palestinian issue within the framework of international legitmacy, by assisting the Palestinian and Israeli parties to implement their mutual obligations under the roadmap in order to establish the independent Palestinian state to live side by side with Israel. This is the only way to avert the Palestinian and Israeli peoples woes of the escalating current of violence and counter-violence and to enhance the climate of stability that could lead to integrated regional cooperation in future. Second: Restoring peace, security and stability to the brotherly Iraq through aiding it to implement the international plan approved by the security Council by Resoultion No. 1546. This should lead to reducing violence and achieving the national and ethnic reconciliation and electing Iraqi Government and Parliament with the advent of 2005. Third: Addressing the question of the possession of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East region from a broader perspective, according to uniform criteria that are applicable all without exception. This should lead to the establishment of a weapons of mass-destruction free zone as a mainstay of peace and stability. Fourth: Intensifying attention to the Strategic African dimension in Egypt's external relations including the participation in meeting African developmental objectives and resolving the political and security problems of the African countries. These will be conducted in the context of effective efforts exerted by the african Union and within bilateral frameworks enhancing our relations with all countries and peoples of the Continent. Fifth: Entrenching the pilliars of joint Arab action and enhancing its ability to deal with the outside world on the bases of peerage, joint interests, justice, legitmacy and equality. This will enhance our impact on international and regional issues and changing international vision of our critical issues. On the other hand Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, gave a dinner party in honor of all armed forces personnel in the Eastern Region. Addressing the gathering, Prince Sultan lauded the efforts exerted by the armed forces for the sake of security in the country. He said Islam is the religion of tolerance and moderation. The audience was attended by Prince Mohammed Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of the Eastern Region, other princes and senior military officials. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, had left Riyadh heading for the eastern region on an inspection visit. At the airport, he was seen off by a number of princes and officials. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, arrived in Dahran in the eastern province. At the airport, he was received by a number of princes and officials. Prince Sultan was accompanied a number of princes. In the Sultanate of Oman Sultan Qaboos bin Said and Dr Sayyed Mohammed Khatami, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, held a session of talks at Al Alam Palace. They reviewed the excellent bilateral relations and ways of enhancing cooperation in various fields in the interest of the Omani and Iranian friendly peoples. They also reviewed a number of regional and international issues of common concern. The talks were attended from the Omani side by Sayyid Badr bin Saud bin Hareb Al Busaidi, minister responsible for defence affairs; Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister responsible for foreign affairs; Mohammed bin Al Zubair bin Ali, the Sultan's adviser for economic planning affairs; Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, commerce and industry minister; Ahmed bin Yousuf Al Harthy, head of Arab department; Mohammed bin Tahir A'ideed, head of the European department; Talib bin Niran Al Raisi, head of conferences and international organisations department; and Abdullah bin Salim Al Shanfari, Sultanate's ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The session was attended from the Iranian side by Kamal Kharrazi, foreign minister; Admiral Ali Shamkhani, defence and support minister; Eng. Ishaq bin Jehanjiri, industry and minerals minister; Eng. Khatami, head of the president of the republic's office; Mohammed Jawad Asayesh, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Sultanate; and other senior Iranian officials. President Khatami arrived on a two-day official visit to the Sultanate. The Sultan led the welcoming party for the president upon his arrival at the Royal Airport. The Iranian president was given an official welcome ceremony. When the plane carrying the president came to a halt, the head of the Royal Protocol and the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Sultanate boarded the plane to request the president to disembark. At the tarmac Sultan Qaboos shook hands with President Khatami, welcoming him to the Sultanate. Then president then introduced to the Sultan senior officials accompanying him. Then, Sultan Qaboos introduced to the president the senior officials of the welcoming party, including Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, deputy prime minister for the Council of Ministers; Sayyid Shabib bin Taimour Al Said, the Sultan's adviser for environmental affairs; Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, minister of the diwan of Royal Court; General Ali bin Majid Al Ma'amari, minister of the Royal Office; Sayyid Badr bin Saud Al Busaidi; Sayyid Saud bin Ibrahim Al Busaidi, interior minister; and Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah. Sultan Qaboos then escorted the president to the dais of honour where a guard of honour from the Royal Guard of Oman played the national anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Royal Anthem of Oman while the Sultan of Oman Artillery fired a 21-gun salute to welcome the guest. The commandant of the guard of honour proceeded to the dais requesting His Majesty and the president to inspect the guard of honour. The Iranian president accompanied by Sultan Qaboos inspected the first row of the Guard of Honour. Then, the head of the Royal Protocols introduced to the guest, the head and members of the Mission of Honour, which accompanies the president during his visit to the Sultanate. The head of the Royal Protocols also introduced to the guest members of the welcoming party, which included members of the royal family, the president of the Council of State and Majlis Al Shura, ministers, the inspector-general of police and customs, the head of the internal security service, the chief of staff of the Sultan's Armed Forces and the commanders of the Sultan's Armed Forces corps. The Iranian ambassador to the Sultanate introduced to the Iranian president, members of the Iranian embassy in Muscat. After the welcoming ceremony, Sultan Qaboos escorted Khatami to the protocols hall where coffee was served. Then, the motorcade carrying Sultan Qaboos and President Khatami left for Al Bustan Palace Hotel where the guest and his accompanying delegation stay during the visit. The Iranian president is accompanied by a high-ranking delegation which comprises Dr Kamal Kharazi, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Eng. Ishaq Jahanjiri, Eng. Khatami, Mohammed Jawad Asaiesh and a number of senior officials in Iran. The mission of Hhonour for President Khatami is headed by Maqbool bin Ali Sultan. The visit of the Iranian president comes within the context of continued and fruitful bilateral cooperation in the interest of the Omani and Iranian friendly peoples. In Khartoum Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has expressed confidence that the Sudanese government will be able to solve the crisis in the troubled Darfur region. Speaking before the Sudanese parliament, the second-day of his three-day visit, Mr. Khatami said Iran is ready to help Sudan solve the Darfur crisis. On Monday, Mr. Khatami held talks with his Sudanese host, President Omar al-Bashir. The Iranian president expressed support for what he said are Mr. al-Bashir's efforts to establish peace in southern Sudan. Southern-based rebel groups plan to resume negotiations this week with the Sudanese government on ending more than 20 years of civil war. On the other hand Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff said that Israel's plan to withdraw from some occupied territory aims to rule out a Palestinian state indefinitely, with full US approval. Dov Weisglass' remarks on the move to give up the Gaza Strip next year while keeping large chunks of the West Bank surprised US diplomats, who said Washington remained dedicated to a road map peace plan for a Palestinian state. Sharon, wary of alienating Israel's key ally, said later he still backed the road map which was effectively dismissed by Weisglass in an interview published in Haaretz newspaper. Palestinians, whose calls for road map talks have been spurned by Israel's ruling right, condemned Weisglass' message. "I believe he has revealed the true intentions of Sharon. We told the quartet (of US-led peace mediators) eight months ago that the Gaza plan was designed to undermine their road map," said Palestinian Negotiations Minister Saeb Erekat. US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington thought Sharon was still committed to the peace plan: "There was never any doubt in our minds that that represents the prime minister's position and the position of the government of Israel," he said. US Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters while visiting Grenada on Wednesday the US does not doubt Sharon's commitment to the "roadmap." Weisglass' message, coinciding with a big Israeli offensive in Gaza, could help Sharon win over far-right foes who oppose abandoning the territory and may challenge his grip on power. "The significance of our disengagement plan is the freezing of the peace process. It supplies the formaldehyde necessary so there is no political process with Palestinians," Weisglass said. "When you freeze the process, you prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state ... Effectively, this whole package called a Palestinian state, with all it entails, has been removed indefinitely from our agenda." Meanwhile, the United States asked Israel to clarify statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's senior advisor and chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, stating that the "disengagement" plan means a "freezing of the peace process." "Effectively, this whole package called the Palestinian state, with all that it entails, has been removed indefinitely from our agenda. And all this with (US) authority and permission. All with a presidential (George W. Bush) blessing and the ratification of both houses of Congress." "The disengagement is actually formaldehyde," he said. "It supplies the amount of formaldehyde that is necessary so there will not be a political process with the Palestinians." State Department Spokesman Adam Ereli, speaking in Washington, said the US told Israel that Weisglass' comments do not match Israel's official government position as presented to the US. But Ereli also said Israel informed the US administration that Sharon remains committed to the "roadmap" peace plan and to President Bush's vision of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Following the publication of parts of the Weisglass interview in Haaretz, Sharon's bureau released a statement saying he supports the "roadmap" and sees it as the only plan for allowing a final-status agreement. Haaretz quoted a senior State Department official in Washington as saying that the administration was very satisfied with clarifications of Weisglass' comments made by the Prime Minister's bureau. Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath said Weisglass has uncovered Israel's real intentions. "Weisglass claims that the Americans are supporting him, and I would like once again to hear an American response on that matter," he said. Earlier, Erakat called on the Bush administration to distance itself from Weisglass' comments. "It's clear that Mr. Weisglass expressed the true intentions of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon," he told The Associated Press, adding, "We hope that President Bush will answer the question now as how to make the Gaza disengagement plan part of the road map and not an alternative to it." Undercutting the Bush's administration's rationale for invading Iraq, the final report of the chief U.S. arms inspector concludes that Saddam Hussein did not vigorously pursue a program to develop weapons of mass destruction after international inspectors left Baghdad in 1998, according to lawmakers and others briefed on the report. In drafts, weapons hunter Charles Duelfer concluded that Saddam's Iraq had no stockpiles of the banned weapons but said he found signs of idle programs that Saddam could have revived if international attention had waned. "It appears that he did not vigorously pursue those programs after the inspectors left," a Bush administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in advance of the report's release. Duelfer was providing his findings to the Senate Armed Services Committee. His team compiled a 1,500-page report after his predecessor, David Kay, who quit last December, also found no evidence of weapons stockpiles. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., briefed on the report, said Duelfer found Iraq's capability to produce and develop weapons of mass destruction had degraded since 1998. The report was "inconclusive" about what ultimately happened to Saddam's supposed weapons stockpiles from earlier in the 1990s, which might have been destroyed, said Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Pointing to apparent prewar confusion inside the country itself, the report suggests that Saddam's senior advisers, and perhaps Saddam himself, actually believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction even when it did not, Roberts said. A Democratic senator briefed on the report, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said the Bush administration, in justifying war, "created a worse-case scenario on virtually no evidence." "There were no weapons of mass destruction," Durbin said. "At most, there was an intention or desire to create them." The White House continued to maintain that the findings support the view that Saddam was a threat. "We knew the dictator had a history of using weapons of mass destruction, a long record of aggression and hatred for America," President Bush said in a speech in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. "There was a risk, a real risk, that Saddam Hussein would pass weapons or materials or information to terrorist networks. In the world after Sept. 11, that was a risk we could not afford to take." Saddam was importing banned materials, working on unmanned aerial vehicles in violation of U.N. agreements and maintaining industrial capability that could be converted to produce weapons, officials have said. Duelfer also describes Saddam's Iraq as having had limited research efforts into chemical and biological weapons. Duelfer's report will come on a week that the White House has been put on the defensive in a number of Iraq issues. Remarks this week by L. Paul Bremer, former U.S. administrator in occupied Iraq, suggested he argued for more troops in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, when looting was rampant. A spokesman for Bush's re-election campaign said Bremer indeed differed with military commanders. Bush's election rival, Democrat John Kerry, pounced on Bremer's statements that the United States "paid a big price" for having insufficient troop levels. On weapons, however, the Massachusetts senator has said he still would have voted to authorize the invasion even if he had known none would be found. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Duelfer report "will continue to show that he was a gathering threat that needed to be taken seriously, that it was a matter of time before he was going to begin pursuing those weapons of mass destruction." Compare that to the words of Vice President Dick Cheney, in a speech on Aug. 26, 2002, 6 1/2 months before the invasion: "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction," Cheney said then. "There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies and against us." On Wednesday, the White House also continued to assert that there were clear ties between Saddam before the invasion and the al-Qaida linked terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But a CIA report recently given to the White House found no conclusive evidence that Saddam harbored al-Zarqawi before the war, two U.S. government officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. They stressed, though, that the report did not make a final conclusion and the question of the al-Zaraqwi-Saddam ties is still being pursued. One of the officials said it is clear that al-Zarqawi had been planning terrorist attacks while operating out of Baghdad. The CIA report was first revealed by Knight-Ridder. During last Tuesday night's debate, Cheney said "there is still debate over this question." But he added: "At one point, some of Zarqawi's people were arrested. Saddam personally intervened to have them released." |
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