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Islamic Nations Call for U.S. Out of Iraq
The world’s Islamic nations opened their biggest meeting in three years Saturday with a call for the eviction of U.S. troops from Iraq and the rapid restoration of its sovereignty. The gathering of the 57 countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the world’s biggest Muslim political group, was split until recently over whether the Iraqi Governing Council should assume the seat held by Saddam Hussein’s ousted government. But delegates said Saturday a resolution would be adopted welcoming the council.
Why, thank you most to death...
Divisions over Iraq threatened to prevent Islamic leaders from finding a unified voice to address a widespread feeling that the war against terrorism has turned into a war against Muslims.
No, just against the terrorist and those who support them. Haven’t we made this clear:
Support Terrorism = Enemy
Not support Terrorism = not Enemy
Geeze... You think we were discussing cause and effect or something.
The group’s summit is its first regular meeting since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks brought terrorism to the center of world politics. Senior officials opened discussions with a prayer Saturday in Malaysia’s new administrative capital, Putrajaya. They will lay out positions for their foreign ministers and national leaders to consider later in the week, ranging from Israel’s airstrike on Syria to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
What breadth! Why, the gamut runs from Israel to... ummm... Israel.
But Iraq took center stage. Musa Braiza, head of the Jordanian delegation, said a resolution would acknowledge that positive change was under way in Iraq but would emphasize the full restoration of Iraqi sovereignty.
"Hopefully with a dictator like the rest of us ME nations."
Abdelouahed Belkaziz, the OIC’s secretary general, said Islamic nations "are still under the strain of extremely difficult challenges and unprecedented threats to our countries’ independence, sovereignty, security and courses."
"Yes, by Gawd! Unprecedented threats! Deep-laid plots! Foul conspiracies! They're coming to get us! They're coming to take me away!"
"And a free and democratic Iraq will make it all the more difficult to justify our existance and claim to power."
Top priority should go to "the eviction of foreign forces from Iraq, allowing the United Nations to administer Iraqi affairs (as a) prelude to restoration of Iraq’s independence, and to the rebuilding of what has been destroyed over the past 20 years, all in accordance with a clear and short timetable," he said.
This shounds good, except for the United Nations part. They couldn’t organize a birthday party for a six year old. Have they suceeded anywhere in the world?
Host Malaysia, a moderate, prosperous Southeast Asian country led by blunt-spoken Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, had attempted to keep the U.S.-picked Iraqi council from taking the seat formerly held by Saddam’s government, viewing the council as puppets. But Arab nations - the real power in the Islamic world, many of which allowed American troops to attack Iraq from their soil - prevailed upon Malaysia to accept the council, which has already been admitted to the Arab League. Malaysia has said Muslim states should not heed U.S. calls to send peacekeepers to Iraq unless the United Nations takes control of such operations. Washington wants troops from other countries to help relieve the burden on its 130,000 troops there. Turkey has given the green light to send troops,
... causing the Iraqis to wet themselves...
raising objections among the Iraqi Governing Council, which fears the troops would interfere in Iraq’s internal affairs and that Turkey’s conflict with its Kurdish minority could spill over to engulf Kurds in northern Iraq. "We don’t like to have any terrorists peacekeeping troops from neighboring countries, because it might cause problems inside Iraq," said Riyadh al-Fadhli, a senior Iraqi Foreign Ministry official. Tahsin Burcuoglu, head of Turkey’s delegation, said his country was assuming its neighborly responsibility and suggested that countries that wait for U.N. cover that may never materialize were satisfied with doing nothing.
That's what they do best, isn't it? Besides bump off their own people, I mean...
"Everybody among the Islamic countries has to make a choice," Burcuoglu said. "If there is no such resolution, then what should be the position of Islamic countries — to stay out and wait for something else and to just observe the tragedy going on?" But Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Gholamali Khoshroo, said that Muslim countries were unanimous in feeling that the United States should leave Iraq and hand over power back to Saddam or the Jihaldists Iraqis. Striking a common position on peacekeepers would not be on the summit agenda, he said.
Iran on the side of the Iraqi people? I better go build a landing strip for my flying pigs!
Syria declared that it wants the conference to formally condemn Israel’s recent airstrike against a training base for Palestinian militants on its soil. Damascus claims the base was closed years ago, while Israel insists it was being used recently by suicide bombers plotting attacks.
Which explains why Syria does not want any reporters seeing a deserted, abandoned training camp.
Syria has run into snags in the U.N. Security Council in persuading European countries to support a resolution condemning Israel while letting the murders scott free, and the United States has threatened a veto. "We are more hopeful than in any other sphere that the OIC will adopt the resolution supporting our position," said Bashar Jaafaari, chief of the Syrian delegation.
On the other hand, the OIC means squat...
Malaysia’s leader said Israel and the United States were trying to spark a Mideast war. "Israel has been urging America to invade Syria, and Americans seemed to be reluctant, so in order to force the hand of America, Israel defends herself invades Syria," Mahathir said.
Relunctance = Desire to start a war.

Of course training and supporting terrorists and murders = Desire to have peace.
"Now, the Americans will have to support it. Otherwise, the candidates for the presidency in the United States will lose Jewish votes."
Shows how much they know. The ’block of votes’ to get nowdays is the Latino vote. I think the Jewish vote is what? Sixth, seventh on the list?
The OIC has been dismissed by critics as a toothless old crone talk shop with few concrete achievements. Malaysian officials say their nation, as OIC chair for the next three years, will strive to transform the organization into an effective advocate of jokes everywhere.
Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-10-11
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=19735