Iraq seeks non-neighboring allies

The prime minister said aid is needed to stamp out insurgents.
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said today that Islamic countries must close ranks against "those gangs, those terrorists and those criminals" who he said are threatening the Arab world.
With Secretary of State Colin Powell standing at his side, Allawi voiced support for a Saudi-led initiative under which Muslim countries would contribute to the creation of a new force that would help bring stability to Iraq.
"The leaders of this region must unify and must stand as one group," Allawi told a news conference.
He said that if the 15-month old insurgency in Iraq prevails, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Syria and Lebanon would not be safe.
Welcoming help
Under the Saudi proposal, Arab and Muslim countries that do not border on Iraq would be invited to contribute. Iraq believes involvement by its neighbors in the country's security could ultimately lead to political conflicts with them.
"We look forward to the contribution of the Arab and the Islamic states with the exception of the neighboring states," Allawi said.
The Muslim contribution to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, with 160,000 troops, has been scant.
Powell welcomed the Saudi initiative and said the time may be ripe for a more active role by Arab and Muslim countries based on the handover of sovereignty to Allawi, along with the approval of a U.N. Security Council resolution that gives legitimacy to his interim government.
"They now have a sovereign government that is up and running," Powell said.
"Based on that, there will be more intensive discussions on the basis of the Saudi initiative to see if more countries are willing to provide support."
Hesitating to cheer
Powell said the degree to which a Muslim force would offset the coalition force was not clear.
He is on the third leg of a weeklong trip to Central Europe and the Middle East. He leaves for Kuwait this afternoon.
Saudi officials said the kingdom is normalizing relations with Iraq for the first time since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990.
Some of the countries mentioned as possible participants in a security force -- Malaysia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Morocco -- are from far outside the region. Pakistan is among the many countries that Iraqi officials have contacted in recent weeks.
Allawi has discussed the issue during an ongoing tour of Arab countries.
The Arab League has been reluctant to confer legitimacy on the interim Iraq government because of the continuing U.S. troop deployment.