Iran-Saudi proxy war in Iraq feared

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U.S. and Iraqi officials fear the sectarian conflict in Iraq will become a proxy war pitting Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim nations against Shi'ite Iran if a U.S. drawdown in Iraq leaves a weak government in place.

The conflict also threatens to strengthen al Qaeda in Iraq, which is seen as supporting the Sunnis in their fight against the steady expansion of Iranian influence over Iraq's Shi'ite-led government, said one Iraqi Sunni exile close to the insurgency.

"It is a religious war," said the exile, who added that Sunni tribal leaders in Saudi Arabia are already funding Sunni insurgents in Iraq.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday said the escalating violence in Iraq made a regional war more likely.

"High levels of civilian casualties and displacement on a daily basis are breeding an increasing sense of insecurity and deep pessimism among Iraqis," Mr. Annan said.

"The prospects of all-out civil war and even a regional conflict have become much more real" since Mr. Annan's last report, issued three months ago, he said.

One Iraqi government official said he could see several Sunni Arab countries extending ties -- political, economic, moral and other kinds of support -- to Sunni groups in Iraq.

"The present situation in Iraq is very dangerous -- a lack of a viable government in Iraq leaves it open for others to increase their influence in the country, and it has already opened a door to a wave of Shi'ite nationalism," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

In a Nov. 29 op-ed article in The Washington Post, Nawaf Obaid, an adviser to the Saudi government, said that if the United States leaves Iraq before the right time, "one of the first consequences will be massive Saudi intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis. ...

"To be sure, Saudi engagement in Iraq carries great risks," added Mr. Obaid, who was subsequently fired as an adviser by the Saudi government. "It could spark a regional war. So be it: The consequences of inaction are far worse."