Bush's strategy to send thousands more troops to Iraq was met with scepticism in the region, writes Salah Hemeid Last week President George W Bush announced his plan to send 21,500 more US troops to Iraq to try to stabilise the country but also warned Arab countries that extremism would rise in the region should America fail in Iraq. He called on Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states to increase their support for Iraq's government. But Arab leaders who talked with US Secretary of States Condoleezza Rice during her Middle East tour this week expressed different priority. Rice tried to persuade the Arabs to back Bush's new Iraq strategy, widely seen as his last ditch effort to bring order to the war-devastated nation. They, on the other hand, were clear -- though some would argue not explicit -- that in return for their support they want a greater US engagement in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. They also insisted that any settlement in Iraq should give Iraqi Sunnis a greater role in running the country's affairs. Thus, the Bush administration seems to be under enormous pressure from its Arab allies to take a more active role in resolving the Arab-Israeli problem. Hoping to alley Arab concerns and meet them half way, Rice promised, after two days of talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories, to organise a three-way US-Israeli-Palestinian meeting, to be attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to discuss an eventual independent Palestinian state. That, however, did not mitigate Arabs' concern about Iraq. During her shuttling Rice continued to hear from Arab leaders, many of them having the Iraqi bloodshed on their doorsteps, that if Bush wants his plan to succeed the Shia-led government of Nouri Al-Maliki should do more to engage Sunni Iraqis in their country's decision-making. "As a key component of the Iraqi social fabric, the Iraqi Sunni community must be included as partners in building Iraq's future," King Abdullah II of Jordan told Rice in a closed-door meeting in Amman, according to a statement by his press office. "There must be genuine efforts for reconciliation so that all Iraqis will feel equal," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said in a joint press conference with Rice Monday. Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit said Al-Maliki's government should dismantle the [Shia] militia and make the necessary amendments in the Iraqi constitution. "We endeavour to build a strong authority for the Iraqi state but the road to that [aim] is through dealing with the militias," he said in a joint press conference with Rice after meeting Mubarak. In Kuwait where she met her counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council, plus Egypt and Jordan on Tuesday, Rice's appeal for support to Maliki's fragile government drew only a halfhearted endorsement. "The ministers support the ongoing attempts to achieve national reconciliation that do not exclude any party or group," a joint statement said later. On the Palestinian issue, the ministers reiterated the Arab position that any peace talks should lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. By linking the two issues together, moderate Arab governments were saying that they will only help Washington stabilise Iraq if it takes more active steps to revive the Middle East peace process. Some Arab commentators dubbed the deal as "Iraq for Land," and said the offer might convince Washington to be committed to help in solving all the regional thorny problems rather than a piecemeal approach to the conflicts. In wrapping up her five-day tour, Rice struck an optimistic tone about her discussions with Arab leaders. "Everyone says exactly the same thing, which we are all saying too, that it requires now that everybody fulfills the obligations of the plan, particularly that the Iraqis have to carry through on their obligations," she said in Kuwait, her last stop. Arab diplomats, familiar with the talks, however, said Bush's strategy to send thousands more troops to Iraq was met with scepticism even before Rice arrived. "Many leaders told her bluntly that neither sending more US troops, nor supporting the Shia-led Iraqi government, would tackle the problem," one diplomat who is familiar with Rice's discussions told Al-Ahram Weekly. "What she heard from them was that Maliki should make more efforts to disarm the militias and commit his government to a genuine reconciliation to persuade the Sunnis to participate [in the government]," said the diplomat. Maliki has so far resisted pressure to move against militias -- though he promised that his new security plan will crack down on the Al-Mehdi army, a fearful militia led by the Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr -- and many in the Arab world remain sceptical about his pledges. Seen from this point of view, Arabs may have to wait and see if Maliki will go beyond his security plan to reach out for Sunnis to offer help to his government. "We are hoping these objectives will be implemented, but the means are not in our hands," Saudi Foreign Minister Al-Faisal said. "They are in the hands of the Iraqis themselves," he said.
