On the eve of an almost certain US military invasion of Iraq, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa spoke to Dina Ezzat about Arab efforts to stop the war "We worked hard to come up with potential ways out. We tried to provide an exit out of the crisis. We are now looking at a war [that is] looming large. But, even if this war is started we will do our utmost to stop it" "Today, as a result of this crisis, a new set of regional and international relations is in the making. Iraq is a very serious issue. But, it is only a part of the new world that is being formulated. The huge debate that we saw in the Security Council was not just a debate over Iraq or over narrow interests, it was a debate about the strategic concerns of the different players and powers on the international scene, be they big, medium-sized or small powers" (photo: Randa Shaath) "We worked hard to come up with potential ways out. We tried to provide an exit out of the crisis. We are now looking at a war [that is] looming large. But, even if this war is started we will do our utmost to stop it" The Arab League secretary-general concedes that joint Arab efforts failed to overcome the march to war with Iraq. "I worked very hard for over 18 months on this issue. Like many other politicians and officials, I was hoping that we could work out a peaceful settlement to prevent this war. Unfortunately, we could not. Today, it seems it will be only a matter of hours, at most days, before Baghdad comes under attack. This is a very sad moment. Actually, this might be a turning point for the entire region and even for the international order," Moussa said in an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram Weekly on Tuesday afternoon. By the early hours of Tuesday morning, Moussa had watched US President George Bush telling the world that he was going to war without UN authorisation and that he was giving Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face military action. The Arab League secretary- general, however, was already switching battlefields. Moussa, who has spent over 18 months working on the Iraq issue to secure the resumption of talks and co-operation between Iraq and the UN, was well aware that the battle to stop a war was coming to an end. He was also aware that anti-war politicians, including himself, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and many others who have been working together to contain the US's desire to go to war, will now have to launch a new diplomatic campaign to stop the impending war. "We all tried. We tried very hard. We had some successes. The Arab League and the UN managed to work out an agreement with the Iraqi government to restart a serious inspections process to assure the world about Iraq's commitment to abandon all programmes of weapons of mass destruction. Many countries worked very hard to make sure that UN Security Council Resolution 1441 would not be interpreted as allowing the use of force or even the automatic possibility of resorting to force," Moussa said. At the same time he added, "we were willing to discuss any ideas or suggestions to strengthen the inspection mechanism. Actually, I believe that there is a consensus that inspections were indeed strengthened." According to Moussa, "during the past few months progress was being made through diplomatic means. Iraq was cooperating with the inspectors. The inspectors were making progress. They were saying that all they needed to end their mission was a few months. Things were moving in the right direction towards a peaceful settlement. "We worked hard to come up with potential ways out. We tried to provide an exit out of the crisis," Moussa said. However, "we are now looking at a war that is looming large. But, even if this war is started we will do our utmost to stop it." Moussa is being provided with a non-stop flow of news updates and briefings about international opinion on the crisis. "This is a very unpopular war," he said. From a neat file put on his desk on Tuesday afternoon, Moussa picks out a strongly-worded statement made by the Vatican against the war. "There is very strong opposition to this war. It is already a very unpopular war even before it has begun. There is clear and strong international public sentiment against this war and the opposition of the Holy See, for example, is certainly something to take into consideration. We all know that this opposition has a lot of weight. It is this kind of opposition that will help diplomatic moves aiming to put a quick stop to this war." Moussa is not making any predictions about the development of or the duration of this war. "Any predictions that will be made now will be mere speculations. And I am not a military expert," Moussa said. Some are expecting a relatively short war. Others a longer one. Some are unsure. For Moussa, however, the issue has become to minimise the losses. In between phone calls with Baghdad, New York and half a dozen other Arab and foreign capitals, Moussa did not attempt to conceal his disappointment by the turn of events over the past few days, with the US deciding to bypass the UN and international public opinion. Also, Moussa was not attempting to downplay the dramatic consequences of this war; "When I was saying, this war was going to open the gates of hell. I meant it." The Arab League secretary-general is willing to admit that this war is going to have a negative impact on the Arab world and the strategic interests of many Arab nations. "This war will have far reaching consequences." However, he warns that, "the destruction and negative consequences are not going to be just about Iraq. No. It will affect the whole region and beyond. It will probably affect the international system as well." Moussa cannot start to count the losses that will result from this war. There is the unimaginable human tragedy and destruction that will befall the Iraqi people. There is the deep sense of frustration that will spread among the masses across an Arab world already angered by an American tolerance of Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people. Then of course, there is the huge economic cost to be sustained by most, if not all Arab states. "There are going to be many negative repercussions from this war. Some are immediate and others will become more apparent as time goes by," Moussa said, before stepping away from the interview for a while to take part in a meeting to assess the situation in Iraq and the Arab League's role in this regard. Despite the disappointment and apprehension, the Arab League secretary-general is determined to move on. According to Moussa, "Now, more than ever before, we have to step up our efforts to provide support and help the Iraqi people. This is our responsibility. This is what we have to do," he said. "We have a number of teams that are working around the clock. We are following developments and we are making contacts. This is a very serious situation. It is perhaps one of the Arab world's most serious moments in decades," Moussa stated. On the issue of the proposed self-exile of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, suggested as a potential way out, Moussa is very careful choosing his words and very particular about being quoted precisely. "The secretary-general of the Arab League works within the framework of Arab summit resolutions and the charter of the Arab League, which represent Arab legitimacy. He also works within the framework of international legitimacy." Neither relevant Arab summit resolutions, nor any of the UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to the Iraqi dossier address the issue of regime change, Moussa stresses. "Therefore, I will not address this issue. Our focus was on the implementation of Security Council resolutions and the cooperation between Iraq and the UN and the issue of inspections on weapons of mass destruction." The generally outspoken Moussa is not willing to be pressed on this matter. "I have nothing further to add. I just work within the framework of Arab and international legitimacy." When the military operations start, US and UK aircraft will take-off from US military bases in some of Iraq's Arab neighbours. This is an issue that Moussa has so far not talked about. That said, Moussa does not ignore the heavy US military presence in the region. He does not deny that different Arab countries hold different views on some issues related to this presence. "We are all well aware of the overall situation. We know of the justified bitterness held by the Kuwaitis, whose country was invaded by Iraq in 1990. And of course we know that the interests of Arab states are not exactly identical at this point in time," he said. However, he hastens to add, "Now we are at time of crisis. We will come to the differences later. Now we have to reach out to assist the Iraqi people." According to Moussa, "we are up against chaos. We have to attend to the crisis at hand and then we can deal with a number of other issues, including our different perceptions of what really constitutes Arab strategic interests." As secretary-general of the Arab League, Moussa has to take into consideration the different views of all member states of his organisation. Moussa is well aware of the argument made by some in the Arab world that it is not up to developing countries like the Arab nations to stand up and say no to the US. Moussa himself could not be further from advocating a confrontation with the US. "I have always believed that it is not in the interest of the Arab countries to enter into a confrontation with the US. Rather, the opposite. I believe that it is in the interests of both Arabs and the US to maintain the best relationship possible. We differ with their policies on a number of issues. They know our position. They tell us their position but we should not have a conflictual relationship," said Moussa. However, as far as Moussa is concerned, a healthy Arab-American relationship should allow for differences of views. "We cannot advocate a relationship by which we are only expected to say yes to the US." The determination shown by small, developing countries in Africa and Latin America against a proposed UN Security Council resolution to authorise war against Iraq is something for many Arab countries to contemplate and carefully consider, Moussa argues. In other words, Moussa believes there is room for improvement when it comes to the performance of Arab diplomacy. "We could do better," he said. At this point, Moussa does not like to dwell very much on the post-ponement and eventual cancellation of a visit by a high level delegation of Arab officials assigned by the Arab summit to communicate with the international powers and the Iraqi capital in an attempt to avert war. The committee -- which includes, along with Moussa, the foreign ministers of the Arab summit troika (Lebanon, Bahrain and Tunisia), Egypt and Syria -- was in New York on 6 and 7 March for talks with the UN secretary-general, chief arms inspectors and the foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. This Arab delegation was supposed to go to Baghdad last week in what was described as a last ditch effort to prevent war. The visit did not take place due to an Iraqi request to delay the visit. "This was a negative development that undermined Arab efforts to contain the march towards war," Moussa said. However, in order to continue his effort to avoid war, Moussa considered a visit to Baghdad on his own. Contrary to many speculations, Moussa affirms that he, "had no intention, none whatsoever" to bring up the issue of change of regime or the issue of self-exile with the Iraqi leadership. The objective of the planned visit was to consider, "ideas and moves" that could have further assured the world of Iraq's commitment to honour its Security Council obligations. However, hours before Moussa boarded the plane to the Iraqi capital, the UN Security Council had been marginalised, the UN secretary-general began withdrawing inspectors, US President Bush had already issued his 48-hour ultimatum to the Iraqi president, and the window of opportunity had abruptly been closed. "I believe that we could have achieved progress had we had more time on hand. I am convinced that a peaceful solution was still possible," Moussa stated. While admitting that the war against Iraq is likely to undermine the Arab world and negatively affect the Arab League, Moussa also observes that this war is undermining the international order and is shaking the very foundations of the UN. "What we have been seeing is a marginalisation -- that is highly unjustified -- of the Security Council. We saw the US belittle its allies and their opposition to military action and take a 'going-it-alone' path, irrespective of the opposition of the majority of the UN's member states, including three permanent members of the UN Security Council." He added, "What we are about to see is military action without the authorisation of the UN, which represents the international community and its legitimacy. This is a very serious matter." "Today, as a result of this crisis, a new set of regional and international relations is in the making. Iraq is a very serious issue. But, it is only a part of the new world order that is being formulated. The huge debate that we saw in the Security Council was not just a debate over Iraq or over narrow interests, it was a debate about the strategic concerns of the different players and powers on the international scene, be they big, medium-sized or small powers," Moussa said. Developments surrounding the Iraqi crisis give rise to many questions. "If it is about implementing Security Council resolutions, then we say that there is a mechanism responsible for applying these resolutions which relate to the elimination of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. So what is it really about? Changing regimes, installing puppet regimes or reworking the region in accordance with the interests of Israel? These are all questions that are associated with recent developments," said Moussa. The link between the Iraqi crisis and the Palestinian crisis is not something that Moussa is going to overlook. Escalation on the Iraqi issue was obviously accompanied by an escalation in the level of aggression used by Israel against the Palestinians, he noted. "And obviously, Security Council resolutions are not made for Israel to comply with, since Israel is treated as a country above international law," he adds. Moussa is therefore not very enthused by US promises that it will put the roadmap for Middle East peace on the table once the new Palestinian prime minister assumes his responsibilities. "Well, it is very important that President Bush decided to pick up this issue again because we have always advocated the need for a sustainable and honest engagement on the part of the US in reaching a fair settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict," Moussa said. However, Moussa, who has worked on the Arab-Israeli issue for his entire professional life, hastens to add, "this is a welcome development, but it has to be made clear to all that we are not interested in simply talking about the roadmap or negotiating the roadmap. What we expect, and what we are willing to go along with, are concrete and specific steps to implement this roadmap. Steps to be taken on the ground and guarantees to be offered for Israeli compliance, which we have not seen for so many years." According to Moussa, "Arabs will not be taken for another ride. We are not going to have a replay of the scenario of the early 1990s of a war in the Gulf, an international conference on Middle East peace, then 10 years of negotiations, and a vicious cycle with nothing to show for all this work. No. We are not willing to see a repeat of a bad show." A fair settlement for the Arab-Israeli conflict is something that Moussa describes as, "indispensable for the stability of this region". "If this conflict is not resolved on a fair and durable basis that allows for the return of Arab territories occupied in 1967, a fair settlement on the issue of refugees and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, then there is nothing that will make this region stable. No matter how many incursions in the occupied territories, Arab public opinion will never accept anything short of a fair, just and comprehensive peace. Those who do not know the nature of the Arab peoples may think otherwise but they are much mistaken." Moussa believes that despite the obvious link between the Palestinian and Iraqi issues, they are existentially separate and should be pursued on parallel tracks. "The Palestinian question is a central and fundamental issue affecting this region, but Iraq is the urgent issue at hand." But since war is practically upon us, is there anything positive that can be obtained from the current situation? "I do not think so. It would be very difficult to imagine anything positive coming out of devastation and destruction and human suffering, especially at a time when we thought we could have achieved the objectives of the Security Council through peaceful means."
