On Aug. 19, around 100 people were killed in suspected Al Qaida car
bombings in Baghdad, including in front of the Foreign Ministry and Finance
Ministry. Several mortars were also fired in the Green Zone, the site of
most foreign embassies in Iraq.
"The criminal acts that took place today require us to re-evaluate our
plans and security mechanisms in order to confront the terrorist challenges
and to increase cooperation between security forces and the Iraqi people,"
Al Maliki said.
Officials said the purported Saudi-led effort was meant to hamper Iran's
domination of Iraq. They said Riyad was believed to have launched the Sunni
insurgency drive in mid-2009 as the U.S. military implemented the first
stage of withdrawal from Iraq. The administration of President Barack Obama
has sought to pull out all combat troops from Iraq by August 2010.
Despite U.S. appeals, Saudi Arabia has refused to return its ambassador
to Iraq. Officials said Riyad has instead chosen to embroil Iran in an
insurgency war similar to that waged by Taliban against Soviet troops in
Afghanistan in the 1980s.
"The Saudis are ready to pay anybody willing to stop Al Maliki, whom
they believe is a tool of Teheran," an official said.
Iraqi parliamentarian Sami Al Askari agreed. Al Askari, a member of the
Foreign Relations and National Security Committee, said Iraqi
intelligence has detected Saudi efforts to finance Kurdish and Shi'ite
politicians to act against the prime minister. He said Egypt and Jordan were
also supporting the Sunni insurgency.
"Saudi Arabia is not happy that Shi'ites lead this country," Al Askari
said.
