Regards, Ivan
Posted on 03/05/2003 3:34:27 PM PST by MadIvan
IT WAS supposed to be a show of Muslim unity to convince Western leaders to hold back from a war. Representatives of 54 Islamic countries representing a billion people gathered in the Gulf state of Qatar for a stage-managed plea for peace, but they left last night with their divisions laid bare.
A bitter exchange of insults between the Iraqis and Kuwaitis was followed by a frank admission from the host nation that Arab states needed to be more honest with their people about the Gulf crisis — especially those, such as Qatar, that are hosting American forces.
The extraordinary session of the Islamic Summit Conference looked, at first, as if it might be the most bland of the past week’s three Arab/Muslim summits when just half a dozen nations bothered to send heads of state.
But then Izzat Ibrahim, vice-chairman of Iraq’s Revolutionary Council and No 3 in President Saddam Hussein’s hierarchy, tore into the Kuwaitis with a ten-minute tirade, broadcast live, accusing them of conspiring with the forces of imperialism and Zionism.
A Kuwaiti Foreign Minister tried to interrupt, prompting Mr Ibrahim to shout: “Sit down, you minion, you agent. Shut up you monkey.” There were gasps as some delegates thought that Mr Ibrahim had not said qird (monkey) but kelb (dog — a far graver insult). But he was not finished yet.
“A curse on your moustache,” Mr Ibrahim concluded, challenging the manly honour of the Kuwaitis. By now Sheikh Ahmed Fahd al-Ahmed, the Kuwaiti Information Minister, had jumped up and begun to wave his national flag.
The chairman, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Qatari Emir, struggled to regain order, reminding Mr Ibrahim that he had started by quoting from the Koran: “Thou shalt be united by the word of God.”
Sheikh Ahmed stormed out into a media scrum. As panicky Qatari security guards tried to pull the cameras away, he proceeded to denounce Iraq and say that time was running out. “Today the Iraqi regime showed what is really in its heart — the hatred of its neighbours. Now it will take a miracle to stop what is happening and we are not living in an age when miracles take place.”
It was a far cry from the anodyne summit conclusions, rejecting a strike on Iraq and emphasising the “principles of Islamic solidarity”, which were issued later in the day anyway.
Before then, there was time for the Iraqis to meet privately with the representatives of the United Arab Emirates, which proposed last week that Saddam should go into exile. Both sides were silent afterwards, but Iraq stayed on at the summit after lunch, saving the embarrassment of the Qatari hosts at losing the key delegation.
Everyone signed up to the conclusion that “Islamic states abstain from participating in any military action targeting the security and territorial integrity of Iraq”.
Asked by journalists for clarification, however, the Qatari Foreign Minister further highlighted the tensions. In remarks perhaps aimed at Saudi Arabia, where al-Jazeera, the cable television news station based in Qatar, is banned and information limited by the Government, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, a moderniser, said: “We are not clear with ourselves and with our people on our approach. All of the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE) are giving facilities to the US.”
He quoted from a remark by Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, who praised five of the six GCC countries for their help without naming them, allowing each to claim it was not them. “This gave room to manoeuvre, but I think all of the region is giving facilities. I do not blame them. I think it is good for the Americans and for our people and for the Iraqis to know exactly what is the position.”
Past putdowns
Arab summit, Cairo, 1970: Colonel Muammar Gaddafi on whether there was any point inviting King Hussein of Jordan: “What’s the use of getting him? He’s crazy. Isn’t his father in an asylum in Istanbul?”
August 1999: Mustafa Tlas, Syrian Defence Minister: “The difference between Yassir Arafat and a stripper is that she becomes more beautiful with every piece of clothing she removes; Arafat gets more ugly with every concession he makes to Israel”
Regards, Ivan
You monkey, you minion shut up and sit down
These guys need to watch more Monty Python to come up with better taunts:
I fart in your general direction.
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