Arab leaders debate war aftermath

Arab leaders debate war aftermath

There are fears of a lengthy occupation by coalition forces

Foreign ministers from the countries neighbouring Iraq are holding talks in the Saudi Arabian capital to discuss how to influence the post-war situation in the region.

The Riyadh talks - the first such meeting since the start of the war - are to address the reconstruction of Iraq and the issue of how to deal with a future US-led administration in Baghdad.

Egypt and Iran have both already said they would not recognise such a government.

Officials say the ministers may also decide to issue a public declaration of support for Syria, which is accused by the Americans of harbouring fugitive members of Saddam Hussein's regime and of developing chemical weapons.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said he intends to visit Syria as part of a Middle East tour to convey in person the warnings Washington has been making to Damascus.

It is not like a treasure hunt where you just run around looking everywhere, hoping you find something

Donald Rumsfeld

As the hunt for weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) continues inside Iraq, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he does not believe they will be found unless Iraqis knowledgeable about the arms programmes reveal their whereabouts.

"It is not like a treasure hunt where you just run around looking everywhere, hoping you find something.

"I think what will happen is we'll discover people who will tell us where to go find it," he said.

The United Nations' chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has told the BBC that his teams could play a key role in helping British and US forces in their search.

He said that, although no such weapons had yet been found, it was too early to say whether Iraq was free of them.

MIDDLE EAST AFTER SADDAM

The after-effects of the war for the region

Mr Blix said he believed there was still a valid role for his inspectors to return to Iraq and examine any discoveries.

"We would be able not only to receive the reports of the Americans and the Brits of what they have found or not found, but we would be able to corroborate a good deal of this," he said.

"I think that the world would like to have a credible report on the absence or eradication of the programme of weapons of mass destruction."

In other developments:

• Iraqi Kurds near Mosul hand Samir al-Aziz al-Najem, one of the top 55 most wanted leaders of Saddam Hussein's regime, over to coalition forces

• Thousands of people carrying Korans and banners demonstrate outside a Baghdad mosque, calling for the US to leave Iraq

• A second half brother of Saddam Hussein, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, the former head of Iraq's intelligence service, is captured by US troops

• The World Food Programme says 50 trucks carrying 1,400 tonnes of food is due in Baghdad shortly

• Kurdish officials in northern Iraq say they have discovered at least 2,000 unmarked graves close to an abandoned military camp in the city of Kirkuk

• Three cultural advisers to the White House have resigned, saying US troops should have done more to prevent the looting of museums in Baghdad

The BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo says the Riyadh meeting will give Iraq's wary neighbours the chance to assess each other's intentions.

Our correspondent says all the countries represented - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Bahrain - want a united Iraq, not one divided into Kurdish, Sunni or Shia areas.

Blix says the UN's mission in Iraq was brought to a premature end

The meeting is also likely to address future political relations with Iraq's interim administration and the question of how to minimise the length of occupation by coalition forces.

As decisions are made about who will run Iraq in the interim, US President George W Bush has urged the UN to lift its economic sanctions against Iraq, freeing up sales of its oil.

But diplomats who for many years have called for the sanctions imposed in 1990 in the wake of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait to be lifted are now calling for a delay.

They say the restrictions should remain until the UN certifies that Iraq is free of WMDs.

The Pentagon is planning to send a 1,000 strong force to Iraq to help coalition forces in the search, according to CNN.

It says the force will be made up of military personnel, government intelligence analysts and civilian experts.