SYDNEY, Nov 8 (KUNA) — The former United Nations’ chief weapons inspector Hans Blix said he believes the United States plans to keep its troops in Iraq permanently instead of having forces in Saudi Arabia.
Blix, who is in Sydney to receive a peace prize, told Australian Broadcasting radio station that the United States wants to keep its troops in Iraq for strategic reasons, as it is a neighbor of Iran whose nuclear program is causing international concern.
Iran, which is asked to stop its program, might need more time to study its options, he added.
Blix said the United States withdrew troops from Saudi Arabia after the end of the 1991 Gulf War and wanted to move its soldiers to a secular country and found Iraq, which has the world’s second largest oil reserves, the best choice.