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Countries around the world promptly reacted to the start of US-led military action against Iraq early on Thursday, with many world leaders condemning or regretting the war and some others voicing their support for it.
In the Middle East, Iran condemned the US-led attack on Iraq and described the move as "illegitimate." In a statement released early Thursday, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said: "American military operations on Iraq are unjustifiable and illegitimate."
In a televised speech, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said US aggression on Iraq is against humanity and he called on the Iraqi people to resist against the aggression.
US attacks on Iraq were "a shameful crime" against Iraq and humanity, said Saddam three hours after the start of US military operations. Iraq was being treated "unjustly," he said.
Russia, one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, voiced regret over the launch of military strikes against Iraq, the Interfax news agency reported, quoting a source from the Russian government.
"As the military campaign was launched, we can only voice our extreme regret and hope that the casualty toll would be minimal," the source said.
"Until the very last moment Moscow did not lose hope that the Iraqi problem could be resolved within the framework of international law, and that the use of force could be avoided," the source added.
Malaysia, current leader of the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement, condemned the war against Iraq. "We condemn the unsanctioned attack on Iraq," said a spokesman for Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
As a Muslim-majority nation, Malaysia has warned that war on Iraq will lead to more terrorist attacks against Western targets.
In Indonesia, moderate and radical Muslim leaders reacted angrily to the start of the US-led war on Iraq.
Syafii Ma'arif, chairman of the second largest mainstream Muslim group Muhammadiyah, described the US attack as "a savage war." He said Saddam should be replaced but "not through the means of war."
In East Timor, President Xanana Gusmao expressed "profound regrets" at the start of the war. Gusmao said in a statement that he was "extremely concerned with the consequences that war can produce loss of lives and physical and psychological destruction."
Meanwhile, Thailand distanced itself form the war on Iraq and called on the United States to exercise restraint in its military strikes.
"We will not get directly involved in the war," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters. "At this moment we only ask (the United States) to be cautious and not to cause civilian damage. All actions should be limited to military targets," he said.
However, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo expressed support for the US-led war on Iraq, and called for vigilance against possible terror attacks.
"The Philippines is part of the coalition of the willing," Arroyo said in a speech at the Philippine Military Academy in northern Baguio city. "We are giving political and moral support for actions to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction," she said.
Also in Asia, South Korea voiced its backing to a US-led war in Iraq and said it may dispatch non-combat troops to help. The South Korean government supports the United States and international community's efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, said Ra Jong-il, senior security adviser to President Roh Moo-hyun.
Just an hour after US President George W. Bush announced the start of the military operations against Iraq, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated his moral support for Washington. "At this time...I understand, and I support the start of the use of force by the United States," Koizumi told a news conference.
The United States launched missile strikes into Baghdad at dawn on Thursday in what US defense officials said were preparatory strikes ahead of a broader war.
It came about 90 minutes after the expiration of a 48-hour deadline set by President Bush demanding Saddam and his two sons leave or face war.
More than 250,000 US troops are amassed in and around the Gulf region, joined by tens of thousands of British troops, for military strikes against Iraq.
(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2003)
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