Arab League Opposes War on Iraq, Snubs UAE on Saddam Exile

Reuters ^ | March 1, 2003 | Edmund Blair and Esmat Salaheddin

[AntiGuv]

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - Arab leaders meeting in Egypt said on Saturday they opposed an attack on Iraq as a threat to Arab national security and declared their countries would not take part in any war.

The United Arab Emirates proposed that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and top aides should step down and go into exile -- the first time an Arab state has made an official call of this kind -- but the summit declined to discuss the idea.

Washington, threatening to attack Iraq for not ridding itself voluntarily of alleged weapons of mass destruction, has said removing Saddam could spare the volatile region another war, but Saddam has said he would rather die than go into exile.

Arab states have in the past rejected proposals of exile as meddling in Iraq's affairs, and the final communique issued after the one-day summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh made no reference to the UAE's idea.

Instead, the leaders reiterated their opposition to war and announced plans to send a delegation to Baghdad, Europe and permanent members of the Security Council, but did not say when.

"The (UAE) proposal has not even been discussed," said UAE Information Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, adding that war was imminent. "Arabs didn't, unfortunately, have the courage to talk about it and discuss it," he said.

While many Arabs would be glad to see the back of Saddam, calling on a fellow leader to resign and accept exile is highly controversial. Some Arabs fear it could set a dangerous precedent in a region where leaders have few democratic credentials.

Arab leaders are also keen to show their policies are not dictated by foreign powers such as Washington, which some Arabs believe considers "regime change" in Iraq only the first step toward a wider regional shake-up.

STORM OF CONTROVERSY

The UAE's proposal whipped up a storm of controversy at the summit, which had aimed at finding peaceful means of resolving the crisis over Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"It was distributed as an Emirates paper and there was no desire to discuss it. It was not discussed," Arab League chief Amr Moussa told a news conference after the summit. "We are not concerned with the change of regimes. This is not our job."

Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri, asked about the decision not to discuss the UAE proposal, told reporters "The summit... does not discuss silly ideas, trivial ideas, dirty ideas, like these."

The summit resolutions expressed the Arab League's full support for Iraq against "Washington's warlike colonial policy," he added.

The UAE's Sheikh Abdullah said his country had received on the record backing from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and off the record support from other states.

Kuwaiti Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told Abu Dhabi Television on the sidelines of the summit that the UAE proposal could produce a peaceful solution to the Iraq crisis, but most other delegates were more critical.

One Arab official asked: "Is the UAE going to accept any Arab leaders saying Sheikh Zaid should step down?"

Another delegate said the proposal violated the Arab League charter, which says members must respect each other's systems of government and abstain from actions calculated to change them.

The summit atmosphere was strained, and tempers flared again during a spat between political heavyweight Saudi Arabia and regional maverick Libya over the kingdom's hosting of U.S. forces.

Several Arab states, such as Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, host U.S. forces and may be springboards for a war on Iraq. Saudi Arabia has also been home to U.S. forces since the 1991 Gulf war.

The row erupted after Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi criticized Saudi Arabia for hosting U.S. forces. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah walked out of the plenary session, and returned only after the presidents of Egypt, Syria and Lebanon managed to calm him down, sources at the meeting said.

The Arab summit's final communique stopped short of denying the United States the use of facilities in Arab countries -- a step which would satisfy Arab public opinion but which analysts say is impossible for long-time U.S. allies to take.

The UAE's proposal suggested offering the Iraqi leadership "all suitable privileges to leave (Iraq) within two weeks after accepting the Arab initiative."

It said Iraq's leaders should get internationally binding guarantees that they would not be prosecuted "in any form," and called for a general amnesty for all Iraqis at home and abroad. It said the Arab League, in cooperation with the United Nations, should supervise the situation in Iraq for a transitional period.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

This bunch of nomadic camel jockeys have had a good ride for the last 50 years and they don't want to see it end. Democracy in Iraq could be like being a little bit pregnant for the region. They all also have terrorists in their borders whom they have been buying off to prevent their overthrow. It ain't easy being....whatever they are.

[Arpege92]

"Iraqi leaders should get internationally binding gurantees that they would not be prosecuted "in any form" and called for general amnesty for all Iraqi's at home and abroad"


President Bush is not going to agree to a contract like that! Saddam and his coward sidekicks could very well run Iraq no matter where they are. This is pure stupidity at it's highest form!