Arab Regimes Restoring Ties With Baghdad
October 7th, 2008 by Jason
Recent events signal that Arab nations are beginning to reconcile with the Maliki government. Since April, Bahrain, Jordan, and the UAE have named ambassadors to Baghdad. Over the weekend Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit made a surprise visit to Iraq, the first such visit since 1990. And yesterday, the Arab League dispatched an ambassador to Baghdad.
Perhaps alluding to the waning American footprint, the Arab League diplomat said, “We need a more active Arab role in Iraq.”
Posted in Arab League, Diplomacy, Egypt, Iraq | Comment »
Mauritania’s Coup
August 13th, 2008 by Sarah
After the military ousted Mauritania’s first democratically elected president, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, the European Union “warns the military junta that the country faces the serious risk of long-lasting isolation from the international scene.”
Meanwhile, a senior official of the Cairo-based Arab League says that life is back to normal in Mauritania, after visiting the country for talks with its political leaders in a bid to “help resolve the crisis and preserve the democratic process in the country.”
Posted in Arab League, Mauritania, Military | Comment »
And a President Is Elected
May 27th, 2008 by Amanda
Just over a week ago Lebanon witnessed violence unseen since the civil war as Hizbullah took control of many parts of the capital. To end the stalemate, both the Siniora government and Shiite leader Hassan Nasrallah met for peace talks in Doha, Qatar, upon which they reached an agreement. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace provides intriguing analysis on the political deal in Lebanon in a teleconference with Marina Ottaway and Paul Salem.
Four days after the factions made a settlement, the election of President Michel Suleiman (something that is widely seen as a victory for Hizbullah) brought a sense of relief for most Lebanese who welcome the filling of the presidential post as a considerable step forward in the creating peace in the country. The Council On Foreign Relations engaged in the topic by interviewing Michael Young at The Daily Star. Although Young does not necessarily see the compromise in Qatar as a win for Hizbullah, he posits that Sunday’s election “will inevitably lead to a new alignment of political parties by next year.”
In a speech at the Presidential swearing in ceremony on Sunday, Nasrallah affirmed his group would not abuse its newfound gains of government control, including its recent acquisition in Doha of the right to veto any cabinet decision. The developments in Lebanon have incited a fury of commentary on the blogosphere and opinion pages.
While Nicholas Blanford at The Daily Star optimistically considers the “potential for compromises if both sides show a degree of flexibility,”Abu Muqawama reacts negatively to Nasrallah’s speech, referring to it as “dumb.” A regular blogger responds, opining that “it looks like they feel they [Hizbullah] can do what ever they want to the Lebanese government and get away with it.”
Visit Bitterlemmons Internaitonal for more in-depth analysis. UPDATE: For a great synopsis of the broader Middle East media response on the Doha agreement, read this BBC report.
Posted in Arab League, Elections, Hezbollah, Islamist movements, Lebanon, Political Parties, Qatar | Comment »
Iraq, Iran, and the Region– Any Progress Toward Reconcilation?
April 25th, 2008 by Amanda
As the largest Sunni group agrees to work with President Nuri Kamal Al-Maliki after a year-long boycott, Kevin Drum at The Washington Monthly opines that “this seems to be yet another step in the campaign to isolate the Sadrists — now the only significant group completely outside the government.”
He questions the outcome of this apparently positive development, positing, “Is that good news on the stability front, or does it mean that full-scale war with Sadr and his troops is becoming ever more imminent? As The New York Times reports, “exactly which ministries will be given to which Sunni politicians is still under negotiation.”
March Lynch at Abu Aardvark chimes in on the unsuccessful US pressure toward obdurate Arab States to send ambassadors to Iraq. He attributes the reluctance of Iraq’s neighbors to ” their continuing perception of Maliki as a pro-Iranian, sectarian leader and Iraqi state institutions as deeply penetrated by Iranian influence - as well as their lack of interest in doing the US any favors right now.”
Despite his criticisms, he did cite some positive results, offering that “there were some points of agreement across the Gulf, Iraq and Iran upon which effective diplomacy could build.”
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice made a surprise visit to Baghdad this week to “discuss the drafting of the new constitution, which is scheduled to be voted on by Iraqis in October ahead of the election of a permanent government by year’s end.”
Posted in Arab League, Elections, Iran, Iraq, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
Some More on Syria
April 7th, 2008 by Amanda
Gary Gambill at SyriaComment believes that last week’s seemingly low showing of just 11 of the 22 member states Arab Summit in Damascus represented the usual turnout, “despite US pressure” to deter its allies participation. He discounts the alleged Syrian meddling in Lebanese politics as a cause for the summit’s boycott by the big Middle East players like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, arguing that “Cheney’s arm-twisting tour of the region the week before the summit” may have contributed to their absence.
In Haaretz, Amr Oren turns to the Syrian relationship with Israel and U.S. policy, commenting that “President George W. Bush indeed blatantly abhors the Syrian regime, but Israel’s pointing to this fact as a reason for the deadlock in the channel between Jerusalem and Damascus is a mere excuse.”
The Daily Star reports that Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman is threatening to resign if Parliament and Hezbollah are unable to come to a vote for president scheduled for August, leadership the country has been without since November of 2007. Both groups support him as a “consensus candidate.” The article continues that Suleiman’s absence “would almost certainly worsen Lebanon’s 16-month-old political crisis,” that the United States attributes to Syrian interference.
Posted in Arab League, Syria, US foreign policy | Comment »
