Arab League task failed [Archives:2005/890/Opinion]
By Prof. Dr. Abdulaziz al-Tarb
The Arab League delegation (AL) chaired by Ahmed Bin Hilli returned from its visit to Iraq, which came as a preparation for the AL Secretary-General Amr Mousa's scheduled visit to Iraq. Mousa's visit was after the referendum on Iraq's new permanent constitution.
The AL league delegation mission in Iraq failed. There is no wonder for that failure. It was doomed to failure even from the United States that tries hard to rescue itself from Iraq's quagmire. America has been used to have the Arabs as the legitimate umbrella of its strategy in the region.
The Iraqi non-legitimate government had quickly refused the task the delegation went to Iraq with and that stand was not a surprise. It was skeptical that the initiative was an attempt to derive concessions in favor of the Sunnis and to win an amendment of the articles in the constitution in a way conciliatory with what the Sunnis wanted. Therefore, the government of prime minister al-Jaafari as an attempt to get rid of demonstrating any concessions for the Sunnis.
It appeared that the AL effort was not desirable and therefore many were on the lookout and so there was a comprehensive tepidity stance the Arab League delegation was received with. The Iraqi government refused the call for holding a nation al reconciliation conference under auspices of the Arab organization. It is as if telling the Arab League to keep away from the issue and not to interfere in something not of its concern. Moreover, the president Talabani himself swiftly asked the delegation to show respect to Iraq's sovereignty as if he found out in the Arab League initiative something forming a flagrant interference in Iraq's internal affairs.
The Arab League action has come late and it has untimely presented its initiative. As if someone would say where the Arab league was when Iraq was destroyed and plundered, all its energies squandered and corruption spread in it since is occupation on 20 March 2003 up until now. The someone as if wondering about the Arab League stand towards the what has been happening of killing of hundreds of thousands of the innocent and America's military campaigns on Iraqi cities, its bombardment of hospitals, schools and mosques. Where was the Arab League with regard to crimes of torture befalling Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison. Only at this time the Arab League acted under permission from Bush in rescue of himself from claws of severe defeat that befell him and could not but hide behind an external party that may bring about a result.
The Arab League initiative failed because there could not be a combination between alliance with the occupation and those confronting the occupation. It has failed because it wanted to kill the resistance and besiege it. It has failed because it has come as an attempt to put pressure on the Sunnis for softening their stand towards the referendum that partitions Iraq and torpedoes its Arab affiliation and also failed because it has intended to achieve the reconciliation before removal of the occupation. The logic says that occupation must be ended first and all other steps would follow. The occupation itself has destroyed, killed, stabilized the spirit of sectarianism and ignited the state of dissention and with it came the security instability and chaos. Thus there was no hope for any reconciliation to survive unless occupation is ended. For all that it seems that the Arab League movement has come as an attempt to present a life jacket to the Americans.
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[archive-e:890-v:14-y:2005-d:2005-10-31-p:opinion]
