Powell Due In Saudi For Talks On Iraq, Terror

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, July 28 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell is due here Wednesday for talks on Iraq, terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi who is also visiting the kingdom.
Powell, who is on a European and Middle East tour, will hold talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal and meet with Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi and US sources said.
Other than the persistent violence in Iraq, where another car bomb Wednesday killed at least 51 people northeast of the capital, Powell's visit will also address US-led calls for political and economic reform in the Arab world, the sources said.
Powell and Allawi will meet on Thursday in this Red Sea city, a US official said in Cairo.
Saudi officials told Allawi on Tuesday of their resolve to see Iraqi "sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and political independence", while stressing "the necessity of assuring security and stability".
Riyadh, which last month cautiously welcomed Iraq's new interim government, said Allawi's visit "achieves the aspirations of the two brotherly countries and serves the interests of Iraq".
Saudi reticence about last year's US-led invasion of Iraq had further strained its relations with Washington, already damaged by the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers in the suicide attacks came from, suffered in particular by Washington redeploying its major air operations in the Middle East to Qatar before the war was launched.
The Saudi government however said this week it was pleased with the report of the commission investigating the 9/11 attacks, in which it commended "the kingdom's efforts as regards the fight against terrorism."
The report, released last Thursday in Washington, said charities with Saudi Arabian government links may have diverted funds to Al-Qaeda, but found no evidence that the Saudi government or senior Saudi officials had funded the organisation.
Commission chairman Thomas Kean said the United States needed to build firmer ties with Saudi authorities to counter the common threat from terrorism.
The US-Saudi relationship should have "more depth and texture to it," including a shared commitment to political and economic reform in the kingdom, commission vice-chairman Lee Hamilton said.
"In almost every meeting I've had with Saudi leadership we've talked about reform. And they have a very clear idea of how they have to manage reform inside the kingdom, and the care that they have to take before launching into reform efforts that they believe would be destabilising," Powell told reporters on Tuesday.
"Nevertheless, we continue to point out to them areas where they could make changes and improvements ... I look forward to continuing to work positively with the Saudi government."
Reform and modernisation "is not to be imposed by the United States" but must come from within each country, "based on their culture, history, traditions and political maturity and desires," Powell said.
Most Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, have rebuffed Washington's "Greater Middle East Initiative" for reform, insisting that any change must come from within the region, and seeing it as a US attempt to impose liberal democracy.
A source meanwhile told AFP that Washington wants Riyadh to support the process of political and security reforms by the Palestinians in the event that they take control of the Gaza Strip following a promised Israeli pullout.