PM WELCOMES ENDING OF U.S. COMBAT ROLE IN IRAQ

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak has welcomed the
ending of the United States's combat role in Iraq which US President Barack
Obama formally announced on Tuesday.

Saying that it was the right thing to do, Najib said he hoped that the decision
would leave a stable government to administer Iraq to ensure that there were no
internal conflicts.

"The absence of a stable government in Iraq will pave the way for others to take
advantage of the situation and spark internal conflicts which may be difficult
to control," he said.

The prime minister spoke to reporters at his office here after receiving a book
containing Merdeka Day wishes from students of a primary school in Kuala Lumpur.
The book also bore the signatures of students from three schools in Singapore.

Obama declared Tuesday night that the United States had formally ended its
combat role in Iraq after seven years of bloodshed, and that his country's most
urgent priority was fixing its own sickly economy.

Najib said Malaysia had all along opposed the decision of former US
president George W. Bush who had attacked Iraq on the excuse that it had weapons of
mass destruction.

"From the outset, we had doubted this and it has been proven that there were no
weapons of mass destruction. Morally, there was no basis for the attack on Iraq.

"I hope that the troop withdrawal will lead to a political settlement in Iraq to
enable the country to be stable and peaceful," he said.
-- BERNAMA