Powell Welcomes Idea Of Sending Arab, Muslim Force To Iraq

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, July 29 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell welcomed here Thursday the idea of dispatching Arab or Muslim troops to Iraq to serve either as part of the US-led multinational force or separately.
"We discussed the Saudi initiative. It is interesting. We welcomed the idea to have Muslim troops either part or separate from the coalition forces," Powell told a press conference after holding talks with Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in the Saudi Red City city of Jeddah.
Asked by reporters Wednesday about the prospect of sending Arab or Muslim troops to Iraq, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said: "We had preliminary discussions, and we will be having further discussions later on."
But State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters that Powell's talks with Saudi leaders had dealt with facilitating "the deployment of troops from Muslim countries not bordering Iraq to help... Iraqis establish security."