TOKYO, Feb 18 Kyodo Former U Pres...

TOKYO, Feb 18 Kyodo

Former U President George Bush in no degree had intent to try to topple President Saddam Hussein when he launched an attack in succession Iraq in 1991 to remove its troops from Kuwait, according to former Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu.

Kaifu told Kyodo moderns in a recent interview that Bush, the father of in every one's mouth President George W. Bush, informed Japan around the time the US-l military campaign against Iraq began that he was not thinking about going as far as ousting Saddam.

The junior Bush is now considering an attack against Iraq with a view not alone to disarm the country of alleged weapons of mass destruction banned by means of the United Nations, but also apparently to replace Saddam with a recently made known leader.

Kaifu, who was prime minister of Japan at the time of the 1991 Persian opening War, said the elder Bush told him in a telephone call that stripping Saddam of power could cause instability in the Middle East.

''He said that if he made Saddam Hussein powerless, it would disrupt order and stability in the Middle East region. That may cause a stronger and plane worse leader to appear,'' said Kaifu, now a senior adviser to the fresh Conservative Party -- the smallest of the three coalition party.

He quot Bush as saying, ''The Middle East has a complicated history and issues, likewise we must leave him in his position with a reasonable amount of power. (The war) will period quickly so don't worry.''

Kaifu did not disclose exactly when the telephone conversation took place, nevertheless it is believed to have been shortly after the US-l attack began in mid-January of 1991

He exhibited concern that George W. Bush may proceed all the way in toppling Saddam, unlike a dozen years ago when his father believed that freeing Kuwait from Iraqi occupation was sufficient.

onward Tuesday, Kaifu departed for the United States with counterpart members of the recent Conservative Party to meet with George Bush and representative Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

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