CAIRO, EGYPT - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak blamed Iraq for the impending war Wednesday, while he and other Arab leaders prepared for a possible backlash among their citizens following a U.S. attack on Saddam Hussein.<br>
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Officials from Jordan met with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, and Iranian representatives conferred with Pakistani leaders to discuss the impact on their countries as the U.S. deadline neared for Saddam to leave or face military action.<br>
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"My hope is that the Iraqi government will realize the seriousness of the situation in which it put itself in - and us in," Mubarak said in a nationally televised address Wednesday. "And that the different international forces will realize the dangerous repercussions of any military action on the safety and stability of the Middle East region - as well as on the safety and stability of the world as a whole."<br>
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Deep divisions among Arabs have made it impossible for them to agree on a message for Baghdad. Gulf states, long wary of Saddam, have gone as far as publicly urging him to step down, but other Arab leaders have been cool to the idea.<br>
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And while some Arab governments, such as Kuwait, are allowing the United States to use their territory as a staging ground for war, others are vehemently opposed to any strike on a fellow Arab state.<br>
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Mubarak pledged Egypt's Suez Canal would remain open to U.S. and allied warships. Iran and Pakistan have said they favor a peaceful solution in Iraq, but Pakistan has stopped short of an outright criticism of Washington, a key ally.<br>
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Kuwait's ruler urged his people Wednesday to stay united, saying "a rash, unreasonable, unwise word is a weapon we put in the hands of this enemy (Saddam) willingly."<br>
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The emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, did not refer to anyone in particular, but he was probably alluding to recent statements by Muslim extremists in Kuwait who have called the impending war a "crusader campaign" aimed at taking control of Muslim countries.<br>
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Saudi Arabia fears internal protests by Muslim extremists.<br>
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The Saudi government has taken pains to deny Saudi opposition claims that the nation will allow the deployment of U.S. troops at military bases in the kingdom during a war. The Saudis gave that permission to the United States in the 1991 Gulf War.<br>
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Saudi King Fahd has not said whether U.S. aircraft could use the kingdom's airspace for attacks on Iraq or whether U.S. planes based at the Prince Sultan Air Base, outside the Saudi capital Riyadh, would be allowed to take part in strikes on Iraq.<br>
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However, the king insisted Tuesday that Saudi armed forces will not, under any circumstances, enter Iraq.<br>
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"We reject outright any infringement on Iraq's unity, independence, resources and internal security as well as a military occupation, and we have informed the United States of America of our position," according to a statement from Fahd read on television Tuesday by Crown Prince Abdullah.<br>
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