Mubarak: US withdrawal "would be a blow": blames Saddam for Iraqi unrest

In an interview with Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya on Saturday, and reported by AP at Salon.com, Mubarak blamed Saddam's reign of terror for the current troubles in Iraq and says "it would be a blow" if American forces left Iraq.

"It would be a blow. The war would be inflamed among Iraqis. It would become a theater for a dreadful civil war, and then the terrorist operations will be escalated, not only in Iraq," he said.

He also questioned the loyalty of Iraq's Shiite Muslims to their home country.

"Defiantly Iran has influence for Shiites ... Most of the Shiites are loyal to Iran, and not to the countries they are living in," he said, reflecting a concern among Arab nations that Iran has too much influence in Iraq and that its Shiite-majority Islamic theocracy could spill over onto into their largely Sunni countries.