Iraq Calls for Saudi, Kuwaiti Coups

Iraq’s parliament on Wednesday called on Arabs to topple the Kuwaiti and Saudi governments for backing U.S. attacks on Iraq, and Baghdad also said it will keep challenging Western warplanes flying over its airspace.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein of making fresh trouble with such statements, blamed him for the plight of the Iraqi people and vowed to pursue efforts to contain his nation.

“Arab masses who stand against the aggression . . . are urged to revolt against these [Saudi and Kuwaiti] regimes,” said a statement issued after an extraordinary session of Iraq’s parliament.

It branded the two governments as “agents” of Washington and London for backing the U.S.-British air assaults against Iraq in December, the biggest offensive since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Albright, traveling in the Middle East, said Washington was not seeking confrontation with Baghdad. “But Iraq’s questioning of Kuwait’s sovereignty and its call for the overthrow of Arab governments are just the most recent indications that Saddam Hussein seeks only to make trouble,” she said.