Posted on 11/22/2005 1:45:00 PM PST by mdittmar
After steering clear of any involvement in Iraq for three years, the Arab League held an Iraqi reconciliation conference in Cairo Monday. The affair turned out to be a small but significant step in the direction -- reconciling the conflicting interests of the country's bitterly divided ethnic and religious factions.
For much of the time the conference that brought together Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians, and other groups seemed likely to follow the disappointing pattern of many Arab League meetings and break up without any agreement. But at the last minute compromise language was found for a statement of principles that stared the main challenges squarely in the face, and for a decision to hold a follow-on conference in Baghdad after the Iraqi parliamentary elections in December.
The statement -- a rare, if vaguely worded note of consensus -- called for the withdrawal of "foreign forces" and came close to recognizing the insurgency, stressing the distinction between resistance and terrorism. "Although resistance is a legitimate right of all peoples, terrorism however does not represent legitimate resistance, so we condemn terrorism and acts of violence, murder and kidnapping," the statement said.
At first glance the conference appeared to be calling for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces. But there was broad agreement that the U.S. presence should end gradually as Iraq builds its own security forces to replace the foreign troops. "Foreign forces" was a deliberately generic term meant to cover non-Iraqi fighters in the insurgency as well as allied troops. Depending on whom you believe, Islamist fighters from other countries account for between 10 percent and 30 percent of the Sunni insurgents.
The insurgents were -- at least officially -- the absent ingredient from the conference, but they were the subject of heated debate. At first, Shiite participants opposed any change in how they should be labeled: The Shiite majority has been the target of repeated attacks on civilians by insurgents. But in the end realism prevailed and the Shiites agreed to the inclusion of the relevant sentence in the statement.
The gathering's attempt to re-define the insurgency as resistance is seen as a step towards including the insurgents in the political process and reducing the violence. In Cairo Sunday Iraqi President Jalal Talabani -- a member of the Kurdish minority -- said he was willing to end the stand-off and talk to the insurgents if they wanted to contact him. "If those who call themselves the Iraqi resistance desired to contact me, I would welcome them," he said. "But of course that does not mean I will accept what they say." The insurgents have expressed interest in engaging in dialogue with the U.S. presence in Baghdad, but not with the Iraqi government, which they regard as a puppet of the United States.
Whether the insurgents' objections will extend to the newly elected government after December remains to be seen. A self-described spokesperson for the insurgents has emerged in Baghdad, and his recent statements have a familiar ring from other contexts, such as the IRA in Ireland, and the Basques in Spain.
Ayham al-Samarra said on Nov. 12 that the "resistance" was willing to talk, but not to disarm. The resistance "will continue to keep its weapons until peace and accord are established in the country," al-Samarra said. He said seven different insurgent groups represent 90 percent to 95 percent of the resistance, but refused to identify them. Attacks carried out by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida terrorist account for five percent of all insurgent operations.
Though its impact can be overstated, one positive sign of the conference was the fact that Iraqis, who have very little tolerance for foreigners, Arabs included, agreed to an Arab League-sponsored conference. "They were together and talking, that's encouraging," says senior Middle East expert Judith Kipper of the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations. "In the end the Iraqis are going to have to resolve their own situation. People are going to have to get out of the way, the Arab League, the Americans, and let them resolve their own future."
No change from President Bushs statement.
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