RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has contacted the United States and Iraq with a peace proposal, the kingdom's foreign minister told reporters Tuesday. He said he was awaiting a response.





Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, asked at a news conference whether Saudi Arabia had been in direct contact with the United States and Iraq in an effort to end the war, said: "We have made the proposal and we are waiting for a possible response."

He did not describe the proposal.

"I don't want to say we were rebuffed because we were not rebuffed, but nor were we given authorization that they're going with it," he said.

The Saudi government has quietly aided the U.S. war effort, even while anti-war and anti-U.S. sentiment simmers among its citizens. The kingdom fears a backlash from extremists.

Weeks ago, Saudi Arabia discreetly floated the idea that Saddam Hussein should go into exile. It also presented to Western powers the idea of offering amnesty to all but the tight circle around Saddam in the hopes that senior generals would overthrow him.

"Both sides know now what this war is going to bring them," Saud said Tuesday. "Perhaps this is a good time instead of continuing on the line that will only add to the boiling situation in the Middle East and create hatreds that perhaps will remain for a long time, that this is a good time to stop, take a breather, see what diplomacy can bring about."

Saudi Arabia hosted the U.S.-led coalition that expelled Iraq from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War. At that time, the kingdom was under direct threat from the Iraqis, who were moving south in the direction of Saudi Arabia.

After that war ended, thousands of U.S. troops, now housed at the Prince Sultan air base outside Riyadh, stayed to monitor the no-fly zone established in southern Iraq to protect the country's Shiites from Saddam Hussein's troops.

The high-profile participation of Americans in 1991 roused the anger of Muslim militants and gave a pretext for Saudi-born Usama bin Laden to go after the ruling royal family and the United States.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, carried out by 19 Arab followers of bin Laden, including 15 Saudis, dozens of Al Qaeda sympathizers have been arrested in the kingdom and a few Westerners have been attacked. The attacks have also strained the decades-old Saudi-U.S. alliance.

"We'll be knocking on all doors to bring peace," Saud said Tuesday. "It's too important to leave to just the gods of war to determine where this thing ends."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,82118,00.html

so does anyone think either side will consider?

During the Gulf War Iraq made many peace attempts with the US.

Each and every single one was ignored, and Bush said that Iraq wasn't trying to reach a peaceful conclusion.

Feeaaarrrr my knowledge!

Well perhaps....they weren't.

They actually made massive concenssions in some of their peace offers, yet America(Or rather Bush) still said no.

_ 11 Marines From N.C. Base Killed in Iraq _
_
March 25, 2003 12:52 PM EST _
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JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Eleven of the 20 U.S. military personnel who had died in Iraq by Tuesday were Marines who were stationed at Camp Lejeune, and most of them were killed in an ambush near An Nasiriyah, the Pentagon said.

"It's time to take the gloves off," the father of one of the dead Marines said Tuesday.

U.S. officials said nine Marines were killed near An Nasiriyah on Sunday when one Iraqi unit indicated it was giving up, then opened fire when the Marines approached. U.S. military sources said about 40 were wounded.

On Tuesday, the Department of Defense identified all nine as having been stationed at Lejeune: Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing, 20, Cedar Key, Fla.; Cpl. Randal Kent Rosacker, 21, San Diego, Calif.; Sgt. Michael E. Bitz, 31, Ventura, Calif.; Lance Cpl. David K. Fribley, 26, Lee, Fla.; Cpl. Jose A. Garibay, 21, Orange, Calif.; Cpl. Jorge A. Gonzalez, 20, Los Angeles; Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Jordan, 42, Brazoria, Texas; Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Slocum, age unknown, Adams, Colo.; and 2nd Lt. Frederick E. Pokorney Jr., 31, Nye, Nev.

Two other Lejeune Marines died in accidents in Iraq, the Pentagon said.

The U.S. flag near the USO center outside flew at half staff Tuesday, and the USO's director, Judy Pitchford, tied an enormous yellow bow to a railing outside the building.

Fribley knew going into the war that Americans could face tactics like those the Iraqis used near An Nasiriyah, his father said Tuesday.

"We had talked about this long before this started that something like this might happen," Garry Fribley said from the family's home in Atwood, Ind., just outside Warsaw where his son went to school.

"That's part of war," the elder Fribley said. "It's time to take the gloves off. We're so intent on being the nice guys, and they (Iraqi soldiers) are not going to abide by anything."

Fribley enlisted in the Marine Corps in part because of anger over the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, his father said. "I think 9/11 had a lot to do with it," he said.

A Lejeune spokeswoman, 2nd Lt. Kate VandenBossche said some of the other dead Marines had families in or near Lejeune, but she refused to give details and said they were unwilling to talk to reporters.

"It's still too fresh," she said.

The Defense Department said the two Lejeune Marines killed in accidents were Lance Cpl. Eric Orlowski of Buffalo, N.Y., who was killed by an accidental discharge of a .50-caliber machine gun, and Sgt. Nicolas M. Hodson, 22, of Smithville, Mo., killed in a vehicle accident.

Relatives said Orlowski was a reservist on his first deployment. He called his mother, stepfather and 3-year-old daughter, CamerynLee, in Buffalo just 10 hours before his death, according to the girl's mother, Nicole Kross.

"He was always there for his daughter, and he loved her more than anything," Kross, an Air Force reservist, said of her high school sweetheart.

In Missouri, friends said Hodson graduated in 1999 from Smithville High School.

Principal Wayne Krueger described Hodson as "the kind of kid that everyone knew and everyone liked."
_
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And you put that out.....why?

Read my one post about what we did during the Gulf War. Then you'll understand why Saddam's been so ruthless, so vindictive, so cheap. He learned it from us.

We surrender...HA HA...stupid Americans we blast you...I think were being too nice. We need to just bust down and dirty and get this shit over with and quit tiptoeing around trying to be all humanitarian for the damn traitors in our country and finish this thing.

sure why not starface, lets just nuke the entire country...so thousands of people who've had nothing to do with soldiers doing what soldiers are commanded to do die, so the enviroment is screwed up for years...it would end the war in a decisive victory right?

Casualities are expected, and i pity the people who think a kill them all attitude is the only way to win a war...how many iraqi soldiers ambushed the americans versus how many people are just people trying to survive a clash of governments? enough to justify genocide because eleven american solders lost their life doing noble endeavors?

As I have said before, over 100,000 Iraqi's died during the Gulf War, and that isn't all military...especially when you talk about the "Highways of Death" that were filled up with Iraqi's and the like and brutally murdered AFTER the war was over. Why the hell should Iraq ever trust, or do anything, that America wants? It's going to be ruthless, vindictave, and very Jordynish.

if bush went in there with a "kill them all attitude" how long before you think bush and america would be standing before a war crimes commitee? Just because america can kill massive amounts of people is no reason to think they are justified in doing so...that's one aspect of this war that i'll actually compliment bush on, he's being reasonable in approaching the civilians and aid to the iraqian people, while focusing as much damage and destruction as he can in preventing the unnecessary loss of life...those that died doing their duty should be honored for attempting kindness, not remembered as being part of a country that destroyed a nation of women, children and poor people ruled by a small percentage of governmental dictators...

is this a refrence to me?

War Crime committees don't mean much. Look at Bush, Sr. found guilty of numerous counts of war crimes for the Gulf War, and yet you never hear about it. Heck, you never hear ANY of the truths about the Gulf War(I know since just four years ago I was in History class, and this info was out publically one year after the Gulf War).

I still don't understand how some people can be so stupid as to think there will be no casualties in this war.

I actually think it's hilarious that some people still have the attitude of "how dare the Iraqis fight back, do they not know we're bombing their cities to help them?"

Another Pythonesque ideal from this conflict

at a time like this, where american government is going ahead regardless of the blessings or protest from the rest of the world, i doubt war crimes would mean much.

i read an article during the weekend, basically pointing out that america has become this monster that the world can't control. what can we do about war? WHAT CAN WE DO? is there any, ANY peaceful way of stopping this. not a chance. i'm not saying every american in their heart believes this, i'm talking about america as a person, an entity.

UN sanctions would cripple america completly and destroyt Bush's administration.

Can you think of one donator to the Bush administration that isn't a multinational company?

Sanctions which caused US based multinationals to cease trading would hit Bush where it hurt as his donations would dry up immediatly and permanantly.

i fear the rest of the world would be more crippled from the this action or at least just as much so if this were to happen. therefore, it isn't really a threat to bush.

Both European and Asian economies are stronger than the US one, I think they'd be strong enough to handle it.

The US multinationals could trade in other countries just not send profits back, US patents that are pending elsewhere in the world would also be hit.

i dont' think it would damage too much, it would simply increase the workforce of america opening a wider variety of jobs, help currency to stay in the country, return immigrants to their native countries(within reason of course) and then spend more time on america...but i don't think any countries will want to sever relations with america, we may be hated but when people need a hand...it's america they turn too...

but america is becoming a rather powerfule "rome" it's just sad that the comparison is so easy to make remebering what happened to the romans...

*Claps for Jordyn*

Eh...you keep changing your signature