|
Liberals-Internationalists Now Hoping To Claim Credit For Iraq
...It was first proposed by Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts in his presidential election campaign, and that was enough to have it ignored by the victorious Bush administration. But in the past month, it has resurfaced as a possible exit from the morass of violence and political uncertainty of post-war Iraq.The Arab League offered to sponsor an Iraqi national reconciliation conference that would include all Iraqi groups. Speaking in Baghdad recently, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said all political factions in Iraq would participate, and the aim would be to seek a wide national consensus. An Arab source said Wednesday Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was at the United Nations to test member reaction to the proposal. On Sunday, a similar concept was advanced by Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska in a speech at Iowa State University. "Once the Iraqi government is in place (after January), the United States, along with its allies, should propose a regional security conference on Iraq with the endorsement of the United Nations," Hagel said. "Creating this regional context is vital. ... Such a conference would give us another opportunity to help rebuild an international consensus on Iraq and address the regional complexities of the Middle East. More missed opportunities on Iraq will be disastrous for the United States, Iraq and the region." A spokesman for the senator told United Press International Thursday the contents of the speech was all Hagel was prepared to say on the subject in public, but that he would have "more to say about this in coming weeks." A related effort involves an international advisory body called the Eminent Persons Group, which advises U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on special political affairs... And even before the lions have finished the kill, the hyenas and vultures converge to steal what they can of the carcass. Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-11-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=133993 |