Arab states discuss Iraq war
2006-04-05 09:55
Cairo - Top intelligence officers from several Arab countries and Turkey have been meeting secretly to co-ordinate their governments' strategies in case civil war erupts in Iraq and in an attempt to block Iran's interference in the war-torn nation, Arab diplomats said on Tuesday.
The four diplomats said intelligence chiefs from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and non-Arab Turkey held a series of meetings over the last few weeks to assess the situation in Iraq and work out plans to avoid any regional backlash that may result from sectarian conflict in Iraq.
The diplomats in several Middle Eastern capitals, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Iran and Syria have been excluded from the talks.
"They are part of the problem, not of the solution," said one diplomat whose country is involved in the talks.
He said the officials are focusing on the proposed US-Iranian dialogue and the implications on Arabs and Turkey of any "American-Iranian deal."
Reports in the Arab press have suggested that any agreement between Washington and Tehran will be at the expense of Arabs.
On Monday, an Iranian diplomat in Baghdad said the US-Iranian contacts will be initiated in the Iraqi capital but he did not say when.
Concern over Iran's influence
Arab nations, mostly Sunni and traditionally suspicious of Iran, are deeply concerned about what they see as Iran's growing influence in Iraq. Turkey, also a key Sunni Muslim nation, is worried about Iraq's split into sectarian and ethnic entities that will give rise to Kurdish ambitions for independence.
Elections held in January produced a parliament dominated by Shi'ites and Kurds, and a ruling coalition by both groups is bound to have close ties to Shi'ite Iran.
At least one meeting of the intelligence chiefs was held in Cairo in late March, shortly after the US administration said it wanted to open contacts with Tehran about Iraq, the diplomats said.
They said further meetings are planned, including at least one in Cairo this month to finalise the strategy.
Syria to launch its own Iraq initiative
On Tuesday, the pro-Damascus Lebanese paper As-Safir reported that Syria is launching its own initiative to "contain the crisis in Iraq."
"The initiative is aimed at containing the Iraqi deadlock in a way that will allow both Arabs and Iran to meet on common interests," according to As-Safir, which also reported that Syrian Vice-President Farouk al-Sharaa was taking charge of the initiative.
Since the ousting of Saddam Hussein three years ago, officials from Iraq's neighbours have held scores of meetings on Iraq but the discussions have not yielded concrete efforts to help restoring stability to the beleaguered nation.
The Arab League is planning a conference in Baghdad in June to try to reconcile the Iraqi factions. In a similar conference in Cairo last November, Iraqi Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders failed to end the rift in a meeting marred by differences between participants.
- AP