Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called on Moslem nations to send troops to Iraq, in order to help the government deal with al Qaeda terrorism and continued resistance from Baath Party members. Al Qaeda and other anti-government forces threatened violence against any Moslem nation that sent troops to Iraq.

The Kurds are not all that enthusiastic about Moslem troops replacing the Americans. The Kurds fear that a lot of Arab troops coming to replace Americans would enable the Iraqi government to disarm the Kurdish militias and take away Kurdish autonomy. The 50,000 Kurdish militiamen were supposed to join the army or police forces once Iraqi became sovereign. That happened last June 28th, and the Kurdish militias are still run by Kurds. Moreover, the four million Kurds in the north are threatening to take control of Kirkuk, and the oil fields that surround the city. The Kurds consider Kirkuk, which lies right outside the autonomous Kurdish zone, to be a traditional Kurdish city. But for decades, Saddam Hussein expelled Kurds from Kirkuk and brought in Sunni Arabs.