Author:
Publication: ABC News
Date: February 20, 2003
URL: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/ITeamInsider.html
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
has recently transmitted a secret proposal to the Bush administration,
using one of his own sons, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah as an emissary,
rather than officials from the Saudi Embassy in Washington, sources told
ABCNEWS.
The Saudis are proposing that after
Saddam Hussein's fall, Saudi Arabia should lead a coalition of Islamic
nations to occupy Iraq while a transitional Iraqi government is established,
with Turkey playing the leading role in the Islamic force.
Senior government officials told
ABCNEWS that according to the Crown Prince, an Islamic occupation force
would defuse the anti-American hostility that is sweeping the Middle East
and putting pressure on moderate Arab governments that are allied with
the United States.
The Saudis would then be free to
crack down on the extremist Jihadis in the Kingdom who are allied with
al Qaeda or are sympathetic to Osama bin Laden.
Right now, Saudis feel a full scale
crackdown would look like the Kingdom is doing American bidding, at a time
when President Bush is very unpopular there.