U.S. Turns Up Pressure on Iraq

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright assured Israel and its Arab neighbors Sunday the United States would have a "swift and resounding" response to any Iraqi attack in the region.

"The United States stands with you in the face of Saddam's latest threat," Albright told the Israeli people in a televised Jerusalem news conference.

She then flew to the Persian Gulf and gave the same message to leaders of Kuwait. She intends to repeat it today to government leaders in Saudi Arabia as part of a swing through the region to line up Arab support for possible military action against Iraq.

During the current impasse between Iraq and the United Nations over weapons inspections, Baghdad has uttered no specific public threat of attack.

In Kuwait, State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said Albright told officials: "The United States stood with you when Saddam Hussein attacked you seven years ago; the United States stands with you in the face of Saddam's threat today."

"She believes she has the 100 percent support of the government of Kuwait," Rubin said after talks in the emirate.

In a statement, Kuwait's acting foreign minister, Abdel-Aziz Dakhil al-Dakhil, said his government realizes "how serious the present situation is and ... holds the Iraqi regime responsible for all the negative consequences that may result from continuing its intransigence and its failure to comply with international resolutions" on U.N. weapons inspections.

In 1990, most Arab countries, with the noticeable absence of Jordan, supported the successful U.S.-led invasion to liberate Kuwait. This time, the Arabs' stance is difficult to evaluate.

State Department officials said Kuwait and Jordan, whose King Hussein met Friday night in London with Albright, are backing the U.S. hard line toward Iraq.

Faced with the growing likelihood of a U.S. bombardment of suspect arms sites, Israel is worried that Saddam may be inclined to strike again.

This time, Israel is vowing to respond to any attack.

At a news conference after inconclusive back-to-back talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Albright addressed the Israeli people.

"The United States stands with you in the face of Saddam's latest threat today," she said.

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