Gulf summit opens with call for quick conclusion to Iraqi crisi

DOHA, Qatar -- With war looming in nearby Iraq, some Persian Gulf leaders opened a summit Saturday by calling for regional unity and fast inspections by U.N. experts searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

The two-day summit of the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, a loose political and economic alliance, was not attended by four Gulf leaders and was overshadowed by threats of a U.S.-led attack on Baghdad.

Qatari emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani opened the summit in Doha with Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the only other leader at the annual meeting of the six Gulf states, which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia downgraded its representation to foreign ministerial level to protest Qatar's refusal to rein in the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera satellite news channel, which Saudi Arabia said insulted its royal family.

"The extraordinary circumstances that surround our summit ... strengthen our belief that our council is the right frame to consolidate our security and stability," Sheik Hamad said in his opening speech.

Unbiased inspections

Concerning the U.S.-Iraq standoff, Sheik Hamad urged international inspectors to be "objective and unbiased," while also asking the international community "to help end this mission" quickly.

Washington is threatening military action against Iraq if Baghdad does not prove it has complied with U.N. Security Council resolutions to prove it no longer has weapons of mass destruction or the facilities to make them.

The United States has military facilities and forces in several Gulf states, including the region's longest airstrip in Qatar and thousands of soldiers in Kuwait, which was invaded by Iraq in 1990. That triggered the 1991 Gulf War.

In Egypt, several hundred people demonstrated outside the Qatari Embassy in Cairo on Saturday to protest the presence of U.S. military facilities that could be used in a possible war on Iraq.

Sheik Hamad, the Qatari leader, also urged further development of regional resources.

In an apparent reference to democracy, he said, "I think popular participation is one of the most important factors to achieve the desired development."

Of the six Gulf states, only Kuwait and Bahrain have elected parliaments. Qatar has said it will hold parliamentary elections in 2004.

Bahrain, a close U.S. ally and home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, announced before the summit that its king would not attend. The leaders of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have not attended recent regional summits due to old age and ill health.