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We won't support strikes on Iraq:
Saudi prince

Dharam Shourie in New York

Saudi Arabia would not support making Iraq a military target of the "war on terrorism", as there was no evidence to show that Baghdad had helped Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, the kingdom's former intelligence chief said on Thursday.

Prince Turki bin Faisal, the former intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia, said although his country regarded Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as one of the world's most active terrorists, it would not support any attack on Iraq by coalition forces.

The best way to topple Hussein would be a coup carried out inside Iraq. The US and its allies should avoid further military strikes in the region, he told the New York Times in an interview.

"You target Saddam Hussein, and no one will object. But bombings like the ones we saw against Iraq in 1998, or like the ones we've seen now in Afghanistan, with so-called collateral bombings, when bombs hit innocent people, will have very bad implications," he said.

He said that his country's voluminous files on Laden contained no evidence of any links with the Iraqi government. Americans, eager to punish their foe in Baghdad, might draw a connection where there was none, he added.

"If there is anything on the table implicating Arab countries, it should be brought out, and not brought out through newspaper leaks quoting US officials," Prince Turkey said.

PTI

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