WASHINGTON, Aug 1: The Saudi proposal to raise an Islamic force for Iraq appeared on Sunday to have run into the ground following differences with the United States and the refusal of several Muslim countries to contribute troops.

By Sunday afternoon, it was obvious that the US was not willing to allow the proposed Muslim force to replace its own troops, as the Saudis had suggested, while Muslim nations were not willing to send their troops to defend US forces and their allies.

As the Washington Post pointed out, the US administration might welcome an Islamic force as a cushion between the Iraqi people and the US-led coalition, its would not allow this force to replace its own or those of its allied nations.

On the other hand, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said earlier on Sunday that Muslim countries which had agreed to send forces to Iraq, insisted they replace the US-led coalition.

The United States maintains about 160,000 troops in Iraq, including a few thousands from its allies, and is desperately looking for an arrangement that could prevent or at least minimize almost daily attacks on these forces by Iraqi insurgents.

The Saudis presented the proposal to US Secretary of State Colin Powell when he arrived in the kingdom on Wednesday for talks with Crown Prince Abdullah. "The Bush administration was in no position to reject the idea out of hand, US officials said, because it came from a crucial oil-rich ally and because the United States has struggled to find new troops for the multinational force," the Washington Post commented.

But later, after his talks with Kuwaiti leaders on Saturday, Powell told reporters: "We appreciate the initiative, but it has to be studied in depth." Foreign ministers from Algeria, Bahrain and Tunisia, three Muslim countries that have been asked to send troops, met in Tunisia last week with Iraqi foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, but the meeting ended inconclusively.

The world's largest Muslim country, Indonesia, like Bangladesh, says it would be interested in sending troops only if they were under United Nations command. The current OIC chairman, Malaysia, said it could send medical teams when the security in Iraq improves, but would not send troops.

Egypt, another country with a sizable army, has also ruled out participating in a new force to be sent to Iraq, but has offered to train Iraqi police officers on its territory.

Yemen has offered to take part in a UN mission in Iraq, provided all forces in the US-led coalition withdraw. Bahrain's government says it is ready to send a naval force if asked by the Iraqi government. But neither Yemen nor Bahrain can send more than token numbers of troops.

Turkey, which has one of the largest armies in the world, could provide thousands of troops. But under the Saudi proposal, countries that border Iraq would not be invited to contribute since Iraq believes that the involvement of neighbours could lead to political conflicts.

This leaves Pakistan, which also has a large army. And reports published in US newspapers on Sunday said the United States was now asking Pakistan to fulfil the promise of sending troops to Iraq, President Pervez Musharraf made when he met President George W. Bush at the Camp David presidential resort in April last year.

"The heat is on Pakistan again this weekend to play a crucial role in political events way outside Pakistan's borders," said one such report. "If Pakistan commits, other Muslim nations would be more likely to fall into line." "If the move succeeds, President Bush would be able to go into the US presidential elections" with the good news, the report said.