Expectations for the Baghdad Arab Summit, like the event itself, are overblown, writes Salah Nasrawi Arab officials begin a summit in Baghdad today to discuss regional issues, including the upheavals in Syria, against a backdrop that includes the boycott of some Arab leaders and divisions among Iraqis over the political significance of the conference and its sky-high financial cost. Under the Arab League charter Arab leaders convene at an annual summit each March. Last year was Iraq's turn to host the summit but it was cancelled after threats of boycott by Sunni-dominated Arab governments in an apparent protest against the marginalisation of Iraqi Sunnis and of growing Iranian influence in Iraq. Iraq's Shia Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki insisted on holding the summit in Baghdad this year to showcase his government efforts to restore stability and to help restore Iraq's regional stature following nine years of American occupation. Al-Maliki's zeal for the Arab summit, the first to be convened in the Iraqi capital in 22 years, comes amid one of Iraq's worst political crises since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country, threatening to reignite Shia-Sunni violence and renew Arab-Kurdish conflict. Al-Maliki's, who is pinning his hopes on a successful summit promoting him as a national and regional leader, may have exceeded both his political ambitions and capacity to deliver. More than 30 bombs hit Baghdad and other cities last week as Sunni insurgents seek to demonstrate that Al-Maliki's government cannot keep the country safe for the summit. The Al-Qaeda-linked group Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the series of bombings that claimed at least 56 lives. Ahead of the one-day conference the government declared a five-day public holiday and deployed 100,000 extra security forces to man checkpoints and roadblocks as it seeks to protect the capital from attack. Dozens of helicopters were deployed to patrol Baghdad's skies during the summit while entire streets in the capital were closed down and neighbourhoods cordoned off. Four-hundred armoured vehicles have been earmarked to transport senior foreign officials during their stay in Baghdad. The massive security operation frustrated war-weary residents of the Iraqi capital. The ensuing traffic jams forced some people to abandon their cars and walk to work and the gridlock has led to reports of shortages of basic commodities in some neighbourhoods. The Iraqi government says it has spent $450 million on the summit, including the renovation of several of Saddam's palaces and hotels in Baghdad to host the participants. Some lawmakers estimated the overall cost at more than $1 billion. Many Iraqis have questioned the amount of money spent on the meeting, saying that it is badly needed to provide basic infrastructure for the country's cities, which suffer severe shortages of water, electricity and medical services. "This summit has cost us dearly. $1 billion for a three-hour exhibition of unsold stocks in return for empty speeches which we have heard over and over again," wrote Mohamed Said Al-Saghar in Baghdad's Al-Mada newspaper. It has drawn fire from Sunni and Kurdish leaders who accuse Al-Maliki of using the summit to raise his international profile at a time when Iraq is facing one of its worst political and sectarian crises since the US invasion. Leaders of the mainly Sunni Iraqiya bloc said they have sent a letter to the summit complaining of "marginalisation and exclusion" of the Sunni community. The bloc's spokesman Haidar Al-Mullah told American Radio Sawa that Iraqiya had asked Arab leaders to "participate in resolving the political crisis in Iraq". Powerful Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani accused Al-Maliki of turning the summit into a platform to boost his influence "at the expense of Iraqi people's interests". In the lead up to the summit Al-Maliki has tried to resolve outstanding quarrels with Arab governments in an attempt to cosy up to their leaders. During a quick trip to Kuwait earlier this month Al-Maliki agreed to pay the emirate $500 million to end a dispute over aircraft Kuwait alleged were stolen by Iraq during the 1990 invasion. He also agreed to maintain borders as mandated by the UN Security Council. To appease Egypt, Iraq signed a long-delayed deal to hand over $408 million to Egyptian workers owed back-pay when they fled Iraq in 1990 as its tanks rolled into Kuwait. Baghdad also signed security and prisoner exchange deals with Saudi Arabia, Iraq's main regional rival, under which dozens of Saudis charged with terrorism in Iraq will return home. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari called the financial and political price tag "an investment for the country". Any excitement over the summit drummed up by the Al-Maliki-controlled media has been marred by the low level of representation of member states. More than half the leaders of the 22 Arab League states are staying away, sending lower ranking officials instead. Saudi Arabia is sending its Arab League ambassador. Egypt's delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr. Jordan, which relies heavily on trade and cheap oil from Iraq, is sending its prime minister after King Abdullah decided to stay away. Algeria is sending the speaker of its parliament. Kuwait is the only Gulf country represented by its head of state. Yemen's President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi is sending his foreign minister, an attempt, perhaps, to curry favour with its oil rich neighbour Saudi Arabia. Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and genocide, was the first Arab leader to say he would attend the Thursday meeting. The no-shows remain an embarrassment to Al-Maliki. Several Arab capitals are intent on demonstrating to Baghdad's Shia government that the diplomatic cost of its closeness to Iran and its marginalising of Sunnis in Iraq is high. Arab summits, endlessly derided as ineffective talking shops that conceal sharp differences rather than settle conflicts, are all about symbolism. They are frequently plagued by no-shows, sometimes because of conflicting interests, sometimes because of personal disputes between leaders. This year, though, the differences are sharper and the snubs even more pointed. The show of disdain from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies could not be clearer. Baghdad's Shia-led government may yet benefit from the absences, which ensure the summit will not pressure it to change its stance towards Iraq's Sunnis. They also lessen any pressure to cool its ties with Iran and reduce support for Syria and for Bahrain's Shias.
