Few Support U.S. on Iraq Airstrikes CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- The airstrikes on Iraq boosted Saddam Hussein's standing among fellow Arabs and made a dangerous conflict potentially more so, Arab commentators said Sunday in a rare consensus. >From former U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf War to hard-liners, there was clear agreement in the Arab world that the U.S.-British operation was a big mistake. ``The strike ends, but Saddam remains,'' said the Saudi newspaper Okaz. A cartoon showed Saddam in an underground bunker, relaxing in an armchair with a cigar while watching TV coverage of the bombardment. Reaction elsewhere was muted at best, with leaders mostly expressing relief that the strikes were over and concern that the essential problem of containing Saddam remains. Only Japan and Australia expressed clear support for the mission. Even Kuwait -- whose invasion by Iraq in 1990 triggered the Gulf War -- refrained from outright support, saying merely that it ``welcomed the announcement'' that hostilities were over. In France, which disapproved of using force against Iraq in the dispute over weapons inspections, President Jacques Chirac said he was ``delighted'' the operation was over. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao reiterated Beijing's opposition to the raids and praised the decision to stop them. While Washington and London claimed they had severely disabled Saddam's military machine, others focused on the fact that the Iraqi leader remains standing -- and that the strikes appear to have ended any hope of Iraqi cooperation with weapons inspections. In Oman, which supported the Allies during the Gulf War, a pro-Iraqi gathering of more than 300 students Saturday was the first political demonstration in the country. The Omani newspaper Al-Watan said the airstrikes had ``failed to weaken Saddam Hussein internally and increased his popularity among the Arabs.'' It noted that the strikes resulted in Iraq's decision to end all dealings with the United Nations Special Commission, or UNSCOM, which is responsible for dismantling Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. This will only complicate relations between Iraq and the United Nations and could lead to the dismantling of UNSCOM, Al-Watan said. Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa called Sunday for a re-evaluation of UNSCOM's role. Moussa also urged the United Nations to fire UNSCOM chief Richard Butler, whose report charging that Iraq obstructed weapons inspectors triggered the airstrikes. Moussa accused Butler of unnecessarily escalating tensions. Beyond condemnation, the Egyptian opposition press signaled possible retaliation from more extreme elements of the Arab world. ``Oh Arabs: Expel the American and British Ambassadors from the Arab capitals,'' said the Sawt al-Umma, an independent weekly. ``Strike American interests,'' said Al-Arabi, a weekly mouthpiece of the Nasserite Party. More than 3,000 people marched in Amman, Jordan, after midday prayers. ``Clinton, you coward, go hunt after women,'' they shouted. In Morocco, valued by Washington as a stable ally in North Africa, about 100,000 people demonstrated in the capital, Rabat, to protest the airstrikes. Some of the most striking commentary came from Iran, which fought an eight- year war against neighboring Iraq. State-run Tehran Radio criticized the United States and Britain for taking unilateral military action. The lack of U.N. approval for the bombing indicates the Americans and British ``want to resort to unilateral military action whenever they deem it fit,'' the broadcast said. In the Netherlands, 4,000 people gathered outside the U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam to protest the military action. Demonstrators threw stones and scuffled with police. One officer was injured. Activists splattered the walls of the U.S. embassy in Madrid, Spain, with red paint to protest the bombing raids and the continuing sanctions. In Bangladesh, about 500 activists marchers shouted ``Down with U.S. imperialism!'' and other slogans against American and British leaders. They later burned an effigy of Clinton. At the Vatican, Pope John Paul II expressed sadness over the airstrikes and bitterness that the crisis couldn't have been solved by peaceful means. ``The holiday atmosphere renders even more intense the suffering for all that has happened in these days to the Iraqi people, in the face of whose drama no one can remain indifferent,'' the pontiff said.
