RIYADH, March 24: Former US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy has said that even without the Arab support, the US can go ahead and hit Iraq.

However, he clarified: “I don’t say the US is going to go ahead. I just said it could happen, that’s what I mean. That’s all I can say. I don’t know,” he said during an interview with the Saudi Gazette. He was in Riyadh attending the dialogue on civilizations.

He elaborated: “I am not saying it is going to happen. What I am saying is that it could happen. We will see what he (Saddam) does about the inspections. If he let the inspectors in with full freedom to inspect, which he never did, there may be a good solution, but there is a risk.”

Meanwhile, Prince Abdullah while talking to some of the delegates attending the dialogue, said: “I looked for a solution (to the Arab-Israeli problem) everywhere. All doors were closed. The Israeli aggression raged unabated with Palestinians responding with stones. In view of these circumstances, I presented the peace proposals. I also wanted to test how serious they (Israelis) are.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese newspaper AsSafir carried a draft of the still to be unveiled draft of the Saudi initiative on Saturday. It said the initiative, entitled Palestinian file, will be presented as an “independent resolution” to be adopted at the Arab summit. According to the paper the initiative calls for:

Establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, finding a just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees in line with the Resolution 194 adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1949, establishment of a normal peaceful relations with Israel, encouraging the Israeli public to seize the Arab piece offer and offering to accept the UN Security Council Resolution 1397 envisioning the Israeli and the Palestinian states living peacefully side by side.

As the Arab summit in Beirut is drawing closer, diplomatic flurry is on increase in the region. The major question being discussed currently is how to ensure the presence of Chairman Yasser Arafat in the Beirut summit.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad held talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Damascus on ways to boost Arab solidarity. High-ranking Arab officials met the other day in Beirut to discuss the agenda of the Beirut summit. Also, Arab finance and economy ministers during a meeting called for greater efforts to face the economic challenges posed by Israel.

Long discussed proposals of a free Arab trading zone and a single Arab electrical Grid is also being discussed by the economic leaders of the Arab states, it was reported here on Sunday.