Risky business

Dina Ezzat reports on the hazards faced by the Arab League mission arriving in Baghdad ahead of a proposed reconciliation conference for Iraq

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A US Marine monitors a grove of palm trees and fields near the Euphrates River in Haditha

The shots that hit the motorcade of the Arab League mission Monday in the Iraqi capital as it proceeded to the headquarters of a leading Arab Sunni group were not totally unexpected. Before heading to their five-day mission in Iraq on Saturday, in order to prepare for an expected visit by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, members of the sizeable delegation of the Arab organisation were half-joking about "going on a very risky mission".

Indeed, in anticipation of the risks, and with unforgettable memories of the explosion that brutally murdered members of the UN mission in Baghdad two years ago, the Arab League issued insurance documents worth LE200,000 for each member of the delegation. They arrived to meet representatives of all political and ethnic groupings in the hope of convening a reconciliation conference aimed at bringing an end to the blood-let that has turned this member state of the Arab League -- certainly its capital -- into a tableau of non-stop attacks that target Iraqis and foreign forces alike.

"Members of the delegation have not been injured and they are proceeding with their meetings," said Hisham Youssef, chief of the cabinet of the Arab League secretary-general. According to Youssef, members of the delegation have not asked to be brought back to Cairo and the Arab League does not regret sending the mission. "No, we have no regrets. Of course we are hopeful that they will be safe, but we always expected this mission to be a difficult one." Since its early hours -- actually prior to its initiation -- the mission of the Arab League delegation, which is headed by Ahmed Bin Heli, assistant Arab League secretary-general, has been sensitive. It is not just the security concern. On the political front, too, there have been serious issues to deal with.

While this mission was ordered by Moussa, it was in fact the brainchild of a limited Arab ministerial meeting, attended by the Iraqi foreign minister, that decided that Arabs can no longer stay away from Iraq while Iraqis are almost taking up arms against one another and while other regional powers, notably Iran, are leaving a strong imprint on political and other developments in this Arab country. However, the announcement of the mission prompted negative reactions from several Iraqi forces, especially Shias and Kurds, who argued that the mission's declared objective of holding an all inclusive Iraqi reconciliation conference was not welcome; that they categorically decline to "sit around the same table with representatives of the [former] Baathist regime". Some Shia and Kurdish figures in the Iraqi government argued, if implicitly, that the Arab League is still held in disfavour by the Iraqi public for its attempts to prohibit the US-led war that eventually toppled Saddam Hussein. Iraqi critics also labelled the League as an unfair broker for its perceived association with Sunni Arabs in Iraq.

As the Arab League mission arrived in Baghdad earlier this week, some Iraqi dailies were ready with antagonistic editorials that criticised the mission, foretelling its inevitable failure. Similar scepticism was expressed in the Arab press that qualified the mission of the League, and the anticipated visit of its secretary-general, as "too little, too late". For his part, leading and charismatic Shia leader Moqtada Al-Sadr issued a statement on Monday -- hours before the assault on the motorcade -- asking the Arab League to publicly condemn the attacks conducted by Abu Musaab Al-Zarqawi and the horrors committed against the Iraqi people by the toppled Iraqi regime of Saddam.

Meanwhile, welcoming statements offered by some top Iraqi officials, including President Jalal Talabani and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, came with some buts and ifs. "I welcome the visit of the delegation of the Arab League and I am going to meet them, but I am not quite sure who exactly they wish to talk with," Talabani said. "In any event I wish to remind them that Iraq is an independent and sovereign country and should be treated as such," he added.

"This effort comes late but we hope that there is a role for the Arab League to assume. We hoped that Moussa's visit would have come before the vote on the constitution but it is going to be after the vote," Zebari commented.

"Opposition to the mission was expected either by those who refuse it or by those who describe it as a late mission," said Youssef. "However, this is a mission based on a growing Arab conviction that there is a role for Arabs to play to assist their Iraqi brethren. It is a mission to be pursued," he added. The assault on the motorcade of the delegation of the Arab League in Iraq is unlikely, Youssef assured, "as of now, to alter the plans of Secretary-General Moussa to fulfil his mission, which aims to secure the widest possible Iraqi support for a reconciliation effort."

Early meetings of the delegation in Iraq, sources say, have been "fairly promising". According to one source, there is awareness among many Iraqis that something has to be done to put an end to the series of bloody attacks that rock Baghdad almost hourly. "But the picture would only be clear when the delegation completes its meetings with the representatives of all Iraqi factions," he added.

Meanwhile, Egypt expressed dismay over the assault that targeted the League delegation in Iraq. "We regret this assault against the delegation that went to Iraq with the intention of reaching out to the Iraqi people at this critical juncture of their history," said Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awad. Awad stressed a growing Arab commitment to help the Iraqi people out of their nightmare.

Arab diplomatic sources say that several Arab capitals have proposed, during the past few days, the need for an emergency Arab foreign ministers meeting to discuss the issue of Iraq and its impact on regional stability.