Iraq-Arab tensions rise before regional meeting
CAIRO -- The Iraqi government and Arab countries have broken into bitter squabbling ahead of a Baghdad conference tomorrow that the United States had hoped would finally unite them in efforts to stabilize the war-torn nation.
Sunni-led Arab governments plan to use the conference to press for a greater Sunni role in Iraq. That has rankled Iraq's Shi'ite leaders, who believe the Arabs are trying to reverse their newfound power after decades of being marginalized under Sunni minority rule.
The dispute reflects the complicated tensions that are likely to surface at the Baghdad meeting, which gathers diplomats from Iraq's Arab neighbors, Iran, the United States, Turkey, and the permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Arab states are likely to try to win US support for their demands, increasing the pressure on Baghdad.
Iran has vowed to support its Shi'ite allies in the Iraqi government but is also concerned the United States will press it on accusations that Tehran is supporting Shi'ite militants fueling Iraq's bloodshed.
The United States has struggled to rally its Arab allies behind the Shi'ite-led government since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
US officials hope the meeting tomorrow will be a chance to show Arab support for Baghdad.
But Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan -- which opposed the US-led invasion that toppled Hussein -- have remained deeply suspicious of the Shi'ites, accusing them of sidelining Iraq's Sunni minority and being proxies for extending Iran's power in the Middle East.
Earlier this week, the Cairo-based Arab League said its delegation to the conference would press for changes in Iraq's constitution and government to give Sunnis more political power.
Arab nations contend that such a step is necessary to ease the Sunni-led insurgency that has bloodied Iraq for three years.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa suggested that Arab governments would take their proposals to the UN Security Council, a move that would be seen as challenging the legitimacy of Iraq's government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite .
The Shi'ite coalition that dominates al-Maliki's government angrily denounced Moussa's comments yesterday, saying that they were a "flagrant interference in Iraq's internal affairs" and "ignored the march of the Iraqi people to build a free and democratic state."
"While we regret these irresponsible positions which incite discord and acts of violence inside Iraq, we hope they will not cast their shadow on the conference," the Shi'ite United Iraqi Alliance said in a statement.
Iraq's Shi'ite deputy Parliament speaker, Khalid al-Atiyah, said Moussa's comments "might encourage some parties to take some Arab countries to their sides to accomplish their political desires" -- referring to Iraqi Sunnis.
