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Kuwait, Jordan fear preemptive strike by Iraq

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, September 25, 2002

ABU DHABI Ñ Kuwait and Jordan exchanged intelligence reports in secret talks Sunday night about Iraq's missile capability.

In a meeting with Kuwaiti Interior Minister Mohammed Al Khaled Al Sabah, Jordan's intelligence chief discussed the prospect of security coordination and the threat of a preemptive strike by Iraq.

The two countries are said to be concerned that Iraq plans to launch a sabotage campaign against Western interests within Jordan and Kuwait to foil any U.S. military campaign, Middle East Newsline reported.

Both Jordan and Kuwait have been cited as leading participants in the U.S.-led war against terrorism as well as efforts to topple the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.



About 10,000 U.S. troops are in Kuwait and earlier this month Jordan completed a major special operations forces exercise with the United States. Jordan has ruled out the use of its military bases for a U.S. attack on Baghdad.

Iraq is said to have between 20 and 80 Al Hussein medium-range ballistic missiles, with a range of 650 kilometers. Baghdad has also launched an effort to convert its short-range missiles to that of medium- and intermediate-range.

The Kuwaiti Al Rai Al Aam daily reported on Wednesday that Jordanian intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Saad Khair held talks for three hours with his Kuwaiti counterparts.

The newspaper, regarded as one of the most authoritative in the Persian Gulf, reported that the two sides discussed Iraq's military capability and the prospect of an Iraqi missile attack on Kuwait or Jordan.



"The two countries share the same apprehension regarding the outbreak of war and the prospect of an Iraqi missile attack, which has led to the exchange of information in this regard between Kuwaiti officials and their guests," a senior Kuwaiti source told the newspaper.

The newspaper said the Jordanian-Kuwaiti meeting was to have included intelligence officials from other Gulf Cooperation Council states. But the arrival of the GCC envoys was delayed.

At the same time, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz held a meeting of military chiefs on Tuesday to discuss regional and security issues. The meeting was said to have focused on Saudi readiness to defend against any Iraqi attack.



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