The Iraqi government and Arab countries have broken into bitter squabbling ahead of a Baghdad conference on Saturday that the United States had hoped would finally unite them in efforts to stabilize the war-torn nation.
Sunni-led Arab governments plan to use the conference to press for a greater Sunni role in Iraq. That has rankled Iraq's Shiite leaders, who believe the Arabs are trying to reverse their newfound power after decades of being marginalized under Sunni minority rule.
The dispute reflects the complicated tensions that are likely to surface at the Baghdad meeting, which gathers diplomats from Iraq's Arab neighbors, Iran, the United States, Turkey and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
See? For many, talks are just a way to reverse the defeat of the Sunni Arab Baathists.
I think it will be to our benefit if Iraqis get to see pan-Arab solidarity in action. Sunni Arab states willing to deal with Shia and Persian Iran as a fact of life are unwilling to deal with a Shia-led and Arab Iraq. I guess pan-Sunniism trumps pan-Arabism.
Meanwhile, Iraq's true friends are out in the streets of Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq shedding blood at the side of Iraqi forces to defend Iraq from the enemies that too many of those conference attendees would just as soon see running Iraq again.
Not to worry, once Iraq is secured, their Arab neighbors will learn to live with Iraq as a fact of life. Iraq will be too strong to ignore.
If we can exploit this, we could solidify Iraqi friendship for another generation.
