Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher warned Wednesday during his visit to Washington that any use of force against Iraq by the United States in a second stage of its war on terror would be a "mistake," AFP reported.
Maher said using the force against Iraq would not solve the problem and would detract from solidarity.
The warnings came soon after European leaders expressed similar reservations, calling on the US to focus its campaign inside Afghanistan, said the BBC.
Such a move “will have a very negative impact on all of us" and "would pose serious internal problems for friends of the United States," the Egyptian minister added.
Maher, who is on a four-day visit to the United States, was quoted by the agency as saying that "there should not be an attack on Arab countries. ... There should be no attempt to enforce things that are not contained in resolutions of the (UN) Security Council."
Maher’s visit came soon after the US President George W. Bush had hinted that Iraq might be the next target in the US-led war on terrorism.
For his part, Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan said Wednesday his country would repulse a US attack, hinting that Baghdad would respond with missiles against Israel, AP reported.
“Any unjust aggression to be carried out by the American administration will bring evil consequences on America,” Ramadan said in an interview in Baghdad with the Qatari satellite channel Al Jazeera.
When asked if a US strike would prompt Iraq to fire missiles at Israel, as it did during the 1991 Gulf War, he responded:
“The country which faces an aggression cannot be deprived by anyone in the world of using any means for self-defense ... it is a legitimate right.” – Albawaba.com
