Babil (Iraq)

"America's strategy and its new military style of pre-emptive war find danger in every country that wants to protect its sovereignty and rejects US hegemony and guardianship. It cannot tolerate countries of the world, especially in the Middle East, having the minimum requirements for self-defence, however simple."

"American leaders and those who formulate America's policies have neglected the (Zionist) threat. This has lead to the transformation of the great (Christian) preachers, politicians and famous academics into pawns in a race whose base is the support of international Zionism."

Al-Dustur (Jordan)

"Iraq is at the most dangerous crossroads. Its leadership is faced with the most dangerous decision and most difficult choice in its life. The entire (Arab) nation will be directly affected whatever the stance to come out of Baghdad and whatever the consequences of beginning the implementation of Resolution 1441."

Al-Ra'i (Jordan)

"Iraq had agreed the return of inspectors from the start. Its decision preceded the Security Council resolution and the threats. It had accepted 'the spies' return' out of respect for the friends in Paris and Moscow, in accordance with the Beirut Arab summit, and to reach reconciliation with Saudi Arabia. This American 'fuss' must be put in perspective. The world is not with Bush as he claims. It is a matter of Bush against the world."

Al-Ahram (Egypt)

"It is certain that the current balance of powers in the world makes Security Council Resolution 1441... a last opportunity. It was obvious that the US Administration, supported by the British government, had already taken a final decision to strike at Iraq anyway."

Al-Akhbar (Egypt)

"At a time when the US is waging its 'sacred' war against terrorism under the banner of democracy and human rights, Washington and its little sister Israel are mostly behaving in contradiction with the basic principles of human rights."

Al-Siyasah (Kuwait)

"Defending the tyrant Saddam is a great crime against the Iraqi people itself, the peoples of the region and all of humanity."

Al-Ra'i al-Am (Kuwait)

"With 15 votes to nil the Security Council last Friday adopted the US-European draft to remove weapons of mass destruction from Iraq. It was one of the few resolution to be voted on unanimously."

Al-Nehar (Lebanon)

"George W. Bush's Administration has, even before the start of the assault, begun drawing up practical plans to form a military government in Baghdad as a first step, and to keep its troops on Iraqi territory for a period of several months to several years as a second step. At the same time it claims that it does not intend to occupy Iraq. What, then, does occupation mean?"

Al-Safir (Lebanon)

"The Americans more than anybody else know that Iraq does not possess nor produce weapons of mass destruction. It does not even have conventional weapons to defend itself against any external military threat. This means that the next mission of the international inspectors will not be technical but political, and it will determine the future of Iraq and the fate of President Saddam Hussein in the next three months."

Tishrin (Syria)

"The welcome given by the meeting of the Arab foreign ministers... to the UN Security Council Resolution on Iraq confirms essentially the seriousness with which the Arabs want to treat the Iraqi issue by peaceful means, within the framework of international legitimacy represented by the UN, and by guaranteeing the security and unity of Iraq."

Al-Thawrah (Syria)

"The question is: How can the permanent members of the Security Council build a new more just and stable international order based on international legality under the US insistence on using force unilaterally, as called for by the far-right wing of the Bush administration?"

Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)

"In spite of the fact that terrorism targets US interests and terrorises the world, those who have suffered more from 11 September are the Arabs and the Muslims. This enabled America to gain what its army has been planning"

Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia)

"Many people have expressed their fear of seeing the US and Britain monopolising the membership of the international weapons inspectors' team� The team must include Arab nationals... They must be selected on the basis for their fairness, neutrality and independence."

Al-Jazeera (Saudi Arabia)

"The meeting of the Arab foreign ministers has given clear welcome to the Security Council Resolution on Iraq. The presence of Syria in the Security Council and at the ministerial council played a pivotal role in this Arab welcome to the resolution. Iraq also welcomed it. The resolution is a test for the credibility of the international community regarding one of the hottest issues in the world."

Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London-based)

"The Iraqi leadership is facing the most difficult choice of its history. Accepting the UN Security Council Resolution means giving away a lot of its sovereignty as a ruling authority, without any real guarantee of the attack being avoided"

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.