Free Republic

The Iranian, Egyptian and Syrian governments accused the Unied States on Tuesday of using excessive force to quell rebels in Iraq. The Syrian foreign minister, Farouk al-Sharaa, said at an international conference in Sharm el-Sheikh that although condemning terrorism, "we cannot over-emphasise the need to refrain from shelling civilians, destroying cities and killing innocent people". More than 20 countries and organisations, including the US, Britain, the United Nations, and Iraq's neighbours took part in the one-day meeting on the future of Iraq at the Egyptian Red Sea resort. The Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, criticised "the use of excessive force...

After, what I would call a "successful" gathering, top ministers appear to be publically supporting the formation of a free and democratic Iraq and opposing the insurgency. Ever the optimist, I am hoping that the US and its global partners are finally strategically addressing the needs of the entire middle-east in the greater context of globalization and world order (peace). Nixon would be pleased... To get the big picture - suggested reading: The Pentagon's New Map & The Lexus & The Olive Tree

Jack Straw tonight hailed a new mood of international unity on Iraq after a gathering of key foreign ministers endorsed the elections set for January 30. The conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which brought together the G8 group of industrialised nations, Iraq’s neighbours and the Arab League - issued a final communique condemning terrorist violence and supporting the democratic process."It shows that there is a real desire in the Arab world and key countries in the international community to look forward and not back and to see this is now a shared problem," the Foreign Secretary...

Interesting, maybe important, background noice at the Cairo conference . . . Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, said the meeting was designed to reassure Iran and Syria that US forces in Iraq had no hidden agenda to attack neighbours. Yet, both Syria and Iran fear the US is determined to bring down their own regimes when its hands are free from Iraq. So co-operation on Iraq may not be sustainable without a broader and friendlier dialogue between these two governments and Washington. Iran, which has no diplomatic ties with the US, is offering support in Iraq partly in the hope...

Foreign ministers from all the right countries were present. The timing - two months before the scheduled date of Iraq's all-important elections - was promising. The Mideast location was symbolically apt. Too bad, then, that this week's big international conference on Iraq in the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el Sheik, bringing together all of Baghdad's neighbors and every permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, did so little to change the dismal overall equation. The ministers came, they dined and they endorsed the familiar uncontroversial list of desirable goals. They encouraged free elections. They condemned terrorism. They endorsed...

Concerning the two day Iraq summit recently held in Egypt:It is indeed a positive development that Iraq’s neighbours have committed themselves to the tasks ahead in the war-wracked country. The support from the six neighbours — Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Kuwait, Jordan and Turkey — is crucial to restoring peace and stability in the country. The importance of their cooperation can be hardly overestimated particularly when Iraq is set to have its first democratic election in a month from now. The January poll, Iraq’s neighbours would agree, can go a long way in restoring democratic rights to the Iraqi people...