Retired Lebanese General, Yassin Al-Sweidi, Advises Sending U.S. Soldiers Back From Iraq in Body Bags to Change U.S. Policies

The Iranian TV station directed at the Arab world, Al-'Alam TV, interviewed Yassin Al-Sweidi, a retired Lebanese general who talked about the American military presence in Iraq. Following are excerpts from his comments:

Yassin Al-Sweidi: We Arabs make a big mistake when we believe that the basic lines of any American strategy change when the administration changes. The American strategy is on a rail and any American president who is elected, changes the details but not the basis.

There may be some changes in the American strategy in Iraq, not because of any American administration's good intentions, but because of the popular pressure on the new administration and because of the coffins that will carry the corpses of the dead Americans to the American people.This is what could make a change, nothing else, just like we had it here, in Southern Lebanon. As the number of coffins taking dead Americans to Washington and New York rises, so will the anger at Bush and anyone who comes after Bush, if he continues this policy in Iraq.

I oppose apprehending a Chinese, Russian, or Frenchmen only because he is a foreigner. This is a mistake. The ones who should be apprehended are the Americans and the citizens of any country that sent soldiers to Iraq and that harms Iraq. But as for countries that are our allies and countries opposing the war in Iraq, we must welcome their citizens and avoid apprehending or capturing them.