Islamic world considers oil as anti-war weapons
Leaders of Islamic countries Wednesday threw their support behind an initiative by France and Germany to avert war on Iraq and said they were considering using their oil to exert pressure on those in favor of an attack.
Fifty Muslim countries met on Wednesday following the 13th (NAM) Summit. Those states had discussed using oil as a weapon to avert a possible US-led aggression against Iraq, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday.
There was no agreement on using the oil weapon, but there was consensus on thinking of using the oil weapon -- "on what we are all agreed," Mahathir said after an informal meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Participants in Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit praised a resolution presented at the United Nations this week by France and Germany that suggests giving the UN weapons inspectors another four months to do their work in Iraq.
“We should make common cause with countries that are against war in Iraq, namely European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium and also Russia," Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said.
“I hope by making a common cause with them we will be able to exert some influence on the United States," he said.
In their NAM summit that ended Tuesday, the mainly developing countries urged Washington to give peace a chance and pledged support for UN processes.
“There has been a suggestion that we look at using our oil wells in order to exert pressure," Mahathir said.
In 1973, Arab oil producers imposed an oil embargo on the West in response to the Arab-‘Israeli’ war, which resulted in a sharp rise in oil prices and triggered a global economic recession.
“How this can be done is something else, but there is a consensus as to the need for us to think about these things," he said of a grouping that includes such oil producers as Saudi Arabia, Syri...