Arab nations plan for Iraqi civil war
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Wednesday, 5 April 2006: 12.01 CET) – Senior intelligence officers from Turkey and several Arab countries have been holding covert meetings in order to coordinate a joint response to a possible Iraqi civil war, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
Arab diplomats confirmed that intelligence chiefs and envoys from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates had held a series of discussions in recent weeks to assess the situation in the strife-torn country and plot a path to avoid a regional backlash should Iraq descend into full-scale civil war.
According to the AP, diplomats in several Arab countries, who insisted on anonymity, said that Iran and Syria had been excluded from the parlays.
One official told the AP, upcoming talks between Iran and the US had also been discussed in relation to the impact on Turkey and Arab states of a possible "American-Iranian deal".
Egyptian and Jordanian officials refused to answer questions pertaining to the talks, the AP reports.
Sectarian strife has escalated in Iraq following the bombing of a Shi'ite mosque in Samarra on 22 February.
Sunni Arab community leaders charge that Shi'ite-led government ministries are harboring death squads responsible for a series of extrajudicial massacres and seemingly random killings.
The predominantly Sunni countries involved in the talks fear the rise of Iranian influence over a Shia-led Iraqi government. These fears have been exacerbated by the failure of political coalitions representing Iraq's Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Shi'ites to agree to the formation of a unity government.
Arab diplomats confirmed that intelligence chiefs and envoys from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates had held a series of discussions in recent weeks to assess the situation in the strife-torn country and plot a path to avoid a regional backlash should Iraq descend into full-scale civil war.
According to the AP, diplomats in several Arab countries, who insisted on anonymity, said that Iran and Syria had been excluded from the parlays.
One official told the AP, upcoming talks between Iran and the US had also been discussed in relation to the impact on Turkey and Arab states of a possible "American-Iranian deal".
Egyptian and Jordanian officials refused to answer questions pertaining to the talks, the AP reports.
Sectarian strife has escalated in Iraq following the bombing of a Shi'ite mosque in Samarra on 22 February.
Sunni Arab community leaders charge that Shi'ite-led government ministries are harboring death squads responsible for a series of extrajudicial massacres and seemingly random killings.
The predominantly Sunni countries involved in the talks fear the rise of Iranian influence over a Shia-led Iraqi government. These fears have been exacerbated by the failure of political coalitions representing Iraq's Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Shi'ites to agree to the formation of a unity government.
posted by Marko at 4/05/2006 08:42:00 AM
<< Home