Fight US with oil weapon Arabs told

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad urged oil-producing Arab countries in comments published yesterday to use oil as a weapon to fight US oppression.
Fight US with oil weapon Arabs told

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad urged oil-producing Arab countries in comments published yesterday to use oil as a weapon to fight US oppression.

In an interview with the Malay-language daily, Mingguan Malaysia, Mahathir also said the countries should withdraw their huge financial reserves deposited in the United States so as to make it bankrupt.

“Arab countries have oil and it can be used as a weapon. Besides that they keep a large amount of money in the United States. If we take out the money, the US can go bankrupt,” he was quoted as saying.

Mahathir also criticised suicide bombings as means of struggle, saying they did not produce any results.

“What do we get from it? Does it have any impact? They (the US) will get angry. In the end, Muslims are killed when they invade Afghanistan and Iraq,” he said.

“If they (suicide bombers) kill soldiers, it is alright, but the problem is those who are killed are the public,” he said.

Malaysia currently chairs the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement.

He led this mainly Muslim nation for 22 years before retiring last October and has voiced a series of scathing attacks on US foreign policy.

In the past he has strongly criticised the US for its unfair policies in the Middle East, which he claims favour Israel. Malaysia has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

The former premier warned that if the US withdrew from Iraq now, it would not leave behind peace, even if Iraqis were in power.

“They have disturbed the beehive,” he said.

He said though that he did not expect the US to leave Iraq after June 30, the deadline for the return of sovereignty