11/04/2006
RIYADH, (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia should try to avert Iraq's fragmentation by lobbying against any premature withdrawal of U.S. forces and by pressing Iran to stop meddling, a report by a security adviser to the Saudi government says.
"A civil war may well be inevitable. Such a development would have the gravest implications for the entire region, especially Saudi Arabia, which shares its longest international borders with Iraq," Nawaf Obaid said in his report on how Saudi Arabia should respond to the situation in Iraq.
The report, released by the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, was based on dozens of interviews with military and intelligence officials in the region, and numerous conversations with Iranian officials, Obaid said.......
