Issue No. 608
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17 - 23 October 2002 Issue No. 608 Region |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
It will be tough
How far will Qatar go to facilitate a US strike against Iraq? Dina Ezzat examines the situation
In Doha on Monday, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa stated that "Not a single Arab soldier will take part in military action against Iraq."
Moussa was talking to reporters after a meeting with top Qatari officials, including the emir and foreign minister. However, Moussa stopped short of suggesting he received assurances that Qatar would not offer the US facilities for any military action. He merely stated Arab opposition to military action against any Arab state, Iraq included, was stipulated in Arab summit resolutions adopted last March in Beirut.
Moussa's visit to Doha came against the backdrop of serious moves by the US to transfer soldiers and military equipment to Qatar, already the largest depot for US arms in the Gulf. It also came amid explicit statements made by US and Qatari officials that the two countries were negotiating the terms under which Qatar would allow the US army to use its Al-Udaid base, in the event of an attack.
According to a senior Arab diplomat, Moussa's visit to Qatar was scheduled when news was confirmed that Qatar has already given a green light to the US to use the Al-Udaid base. Doha reportedly told Washington that it would be in a much better position if the strike is launched with an authorisation from the UN, but that, in any event it would not turn its back on the US request, especially in view of the fact that Kuwait and Bahrain are also expected to provide facilities for the attack.
In Qatar, Moussa was very clear about explaining the consequences of a military action on the entire region. "Obviously, the mandate of the Arab League secretary general and the current situation of loose Arab relations has not given Moussa enough leverage to get the Qataris to change their mind, but at least now the Qataris know that they have to face outraged Arab public opinion," an informed source told Al-Ahram Weekly.
In spite of this, Qataris are not making the slightest effort to deny news of their involvement in the military build-up. Their rationale is that if the US plans to launch a strike it will do so with or without Qatar's help. There is little point in opposing the will of the world's one and only superpower. "We have a very special relationship with the US, this is something that we have never denied. We are affiliated to the Arab world but we also have our own national interests," stated a Qatari official.
Qatar claims to have proposed a political exit from Iraq's dilemma, but, apparently Baghdad was not responsive. "We want to spare the Iraqi people from the strike. We do," the official added.
News leaks from Doha suggested that, during a visit to Baghdad a few weeks ago, Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jassim proposed that Saddam step down and seek safe haven in Qatar or Russia, a proposition that angered the Iraqi president.
Neither the Iraqis nor the Qataris are willing to deny this story. The Arab League declined to comment.
"What the Arab League is trying to do is promote a diplomatic solution to the current problem. This is why Secretary General Amr Moussa worked hard with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Iraqi Foreign Minister Nagi Sabri to allow the return of weapons inspectors," said Hisham Youssef, Moussa's official spokesman. According to the spokesman, Moussa's visit to Qatar falls under the same mandate. That is, promoting a diplomatic solution to the Iraqi crisis.
But what if Qatar provided military facilities to the US in the absence of UN authorisation? Worse still, what if Bahrain, the expected venue of the next Arab summit, also got involved in the strike? Would these states have to answer to the Arab League?
A senior Arab League source says, "it will be very tough. But at the end of the day it is ludicrous to expect other Arab states to impose retaliatory measures against Qatar, Bahrain or Kuwait if they facilitated US military action against Iraq." The source added, "first of all these countries have joint defence agreements with the US. Second, nobody could really forget that the Arab world has been faced with this problem as a direct result of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990".
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