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Arab nations rally behind U.S.

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA Feb. 13. After briefly flirting with the idea of joining a Franco-German initiative to avert war in Iraq, key Arab countries, with the possible exception of Syria, appear to be falling in line behind the United States.

Analysts point out that three clear indications have emerged over the last week that show that the U.S. may have been successful in discouraging some of the main constituents of the Arab world to restrain themselves from moving too close to the European anti-war camp.

First, the clearest signal that some of the main Arab players may have decided to distance themselves from European diplomatic exertions came during the recent four-nation summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm-el-Sheikh. The Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, after meeting the Libyan President, Moammar Gadhafi, the Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad, and the Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud Al Faisal, announced that Arabs could do nothing to prevent or push back a war on Iraq and it was up to the Iraqi President to do something about it.

In expressing the futility of Arab activism and disregarding the evolving European initiative, Mr. Mubarak, according to some Arab commentators, effectively conveyed to the rest of the world that Cairo did not see much merit now in engaging in any serious collective exercise, to avert a war in Iraq.

According to a commentary in the pan-Arab Al Quds al-Arabi, "With the world polarising into two camps, one focused on war and the other demanding that arms inspections continue, we would have expected the Sharm el-Sheikh summit to produce an Arab position in support of the latter but, as usual, we were disappointed."

Second, in yet another indication that influential Arab countries may prefer to stay away from the mainstream diplomacy on Iraq, many in Iraq's neighbourhood appear to be having second thoughts on adopting a collective stance. Observers point out that it may not be accidental that after announcing that the date of the Arab summit — the natural forum where common Arab positions are stated — needs to be advanced and held in the traditional Arab capital Cairo, rather than Bahrain, very little has been heard about this proposal in the last week.

Third, analysts see the decision of the six Persian Gulf states that belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that they would send troops to defend Kuwait during a U.S.-led war in Iraq, as a political expression of support towards the U.S. and Kuwait, rather than of any major military significance.

Sections of the Arab media have pointed out that with 120,000 U.S. troops already in Kuwait, the GCC countries hardly need to make any military contributions.

According to agency reports, the six GCC Foreign Ministers on Saturday decided at a meeting in Saudi Arabia to deploy forces, known as the Peninsula Shield, in Kuwait.

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