Arabs react to Rice appeals for Arab Nationalism
Suddenly Condoleezza Rice remembered that Iraq is part of the Arab world, repeating the word “Arab” 7 times in her speech in 30 minutes, but her call or “instruction” did not need more than 24 hours to get 5 Arab countries to react positively to Rice’s orders.
M of A asks what the “Arab street” will think [when they hear Rice's call], remember he asks about the “Arab street” not the “Arab leaders”.
Here is the answer and the first reaction on UAE [U.S. ally country] al-Ittihad newspaper op-ed, where the writer “Dr. Sa’ad Ajmi” admits that the Gulf-Countries are not convinsed of normalizing the relations with the Iraqi government but they have no choice [U.S. pressure]:
It no secret, the U.S. demands to normalize the relations with the Iraqi government and send ambassadors to Baghdad as a form of support, But the Americans closest allies in the region - the Gulf states - are not eager for the diplomatic relations with Baghdad….for several reasons:
The Gulf States - except for Kuwait - were against the war to topple Saddam Hussein (at least publicly), and felt that the consequences are the United States problem.
The hesitation of sending ambassadors to Baghdad also comes from the security situation in Iraq, and there are evidence; the kidnapping and killing of the Egyptian ambassador in Baghdad, the abduction of Bahraini ambassador who miraculously escaped, the bombing of the Jordanian embassy and the kidnapping of Iranian diplomats, therefore, sending ambassadors is an adventure risks the lives of those diplomats, the Iraqi government does not control Baghdad - not to mention the rest of the country. The bloody events that took place last Tuesday in Basra to Mosul in the north, Fallujah and Ramadi are sad testimonies to the continuing violence.
Also, the hesitation comes from that the Iraqi government does not represent all Iraqi groups, and the interference between the various Iraqi parties which most of their ministers left the government, normalizing the relations will be seen as by these parties as being biased to one group against the other.
For its part, the Iraqi government has failed to convince its neighbors that it is a government represents all - or at least most - Iraqis - Sunni and Shiite - many parties see the current Iraqi Government as a sectarian and the bloody events in Basra in recent weeks is the witness of the Shiite parties rejection of the “Shiiaism” of the current government.
Gulf States are disappointed Maliki government hesitation in resolving the issue of the Arab identity of Iraq, but to talk about the federal division based on ethnic lines raises doubts of the Iranian ambitions, at the same time the Gulf States recognize the importance of “South Iraq” for the future relations between Iraq and its Arab neighbors.
Each Gulf State has its own agenda in Iraq, notice that the Gulf Sates fears are fading slowly but the concerns remain although they required fast contribution.
4 Comments, Comment or Ping
Said Rifai
One has to ask why this sudden shift to ascertaining Iraq’s Arab identity?
It should be noted that the current American strategy is to counterbalance Iran’s influence in Iraq by way of involving Arab Countries, thus reinforcing this identity - for every action an equal and opposite reaction.
Apr 20th, 2008
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