Arab League condemns terrorism in Iraq, pledges to support Baghdad

AP ^ | 9/14/02 | AP

[oldleft]

Arab League condemns terrorism in Iraq, pledges to support Baghdad

CAIRO (AFP) - The Arab League condemned terrorism in Iraq (news - web sites) and called on member states to restore full diplomatic relations with the interim government in Baghdad and do all they can to support it, after warning that the "gates of hell" had been opened there.

This came in a statement issued at the end of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in the Egyptian capital dominated by Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Sudan and the violence in Iraq

"It is natural to resist occupation, but this does not mean cutting off heads," Secretary General Amr Mussa told reporters at a news conference with the Mauritanian foreign minister and current chairman of the ministerial council, Mohammed Fal Bilal.

"There has to be a differentiation between clear acts of terrorism and resistance to occupation," Mussa added, referring to justifications Iraqi militants use to perpetrate violence.

Similar sentiments were echoed in the statement, which argued that "the principles of authentic Islamic religion based on equality, mercy and tolerance forbid and incriminate any harmful actions against the innocent."

It "condemned all acts of terrorism in Iraq that target civilians, security personnel, police, humanitarian and religious institutions and abductions that are being carried out by terrorist organizations."

It particularly denounced the abductions of "civilians employed by Arab and foreign companies that are involved in the reconstruction of Iraq and employees of international and humanitarian organizations providing aid to the Iraqi people and of officials of diplomatic missions and journalists."

The ministers also censured the US-led multinational force in Iraq for carrying out operations that endanger innocent lives.

They "condemned the aerial bombardments and other military operations that target Iraqi civilians in the various towns and villages and result in the deaths of many innocent people" and demanded an end to them.

They also "strongly condemned the inhuman and immoral crimes and practices committed by occupation soldiers against Iraqis, especially in prisons and detention centers," saying they represented "a flagrant violation of human rights and international charters and treaties."

The statement urged Arab states to end their isolation of Iraq that began with deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s 1990 invasion of neighboring Kuwait.

It "reaffirmed the importance of Arab presence in Iraq, including restoring diplomatic relations with Iraq at its normal level in support of efforts being exerted by the interim Iraqi government in this field."

The text also called on Arab nations to "offer help to the Iraqi government in the field of training Iraqis in various fields, including training the police, armed forces and providing them with the necessary equipment."

It urged "the Arab League, in cooperation and coordination with the United Nations (news - web sites), to provide all forms of assistance to Iraq in the different fields, especially in the political process and reconstruction in Iraq."

Mauritania's Bilal said "Arab states are concerned about Iraq and want to help it overcome this crisis."

Earlier, ministers adopted a resolution supporting Lebanon's right to exercise its own choice, implicitly referring to the diplomatic flap over Syria's political domination of its smaller neighbor.

The league supported "Lebanon's right to exercise it's internal political choices," according to Syrian and Lebanese diplomats, taking a swipe at international accusations that Syria has too much say in the country's political destiny.

Syria maintains several thousands of troops in Lebanon, a holdover from a larger contingent sent in during the 1975-1990 civil war.

The ministers also discussed the situation in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.

They "renewed solidarity with Sudan and reject all attempts to divide the country" and expressed "rejection of military intervention in Darfur and sanctions" against Sudan.

[oldleft]

So to summerize:

Cutting off heads=bad

Occupying Lebanon=bad

Killing Americans=good

Genocide=not good, but not so bad really

THANKS ARAB LEAGUE!!!

[Parley Baer]

Whoa! Could this be a turning point???

[yonif]

Meanwhile, the Arab League continues to have open war with Israel, continues to send aid and comfort to Islamic terrorist groups fighting Israel and America, and is an organization filled with terrorist states.

[Fast1]

They are the worlds biggest hypocrites.

[yonif]

No.

[Titan Magroyne]

Oh look ya'll, it's UN-lite!

[Chaguito]

Yo! I don't see this article in such a negative light. They are saying that they want to help the US out of Iraq. Sure the jargon is anti-american as it has to be in the region.

But if I were Kerry, I might swallow hard, as a player for "international" cooperation in the rebuilding of Iraq is arising, still on Pres. Bush's watch. Kerry's last legitimate complaint, "a plan for winning the peace" may be evaporating.

[cdrw]

Yep.

The Arab League condemns terrorism IN IRAQ. Note the qualification. They call for the immediate opening of infiltration bases .. uh .. embassies so that Iran won't have free run in the mayhem. This is a probably nothing more than tactical consensus on how to best get the US out of town. It wont be long before we hear proposals for replacement of US security forces with an Arab League coalition and a few Russians and French thrown in on the side.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Talk is cheap. I'll believe it when they turn over al-Sadr and Zarqawi on a silver platter.

[DoughtyOne]

Your 'UN-Lite' might not stand if appealed to the FDA. The UN is about as lite as it gets. If I remember correctly, the Arab league has more relaxed standards on particulate matter, rodent hairs and the like. Heh heh heh...

[UltraKonservativen]

Going to Iraq was intended to change the status quo of the middle east cesspool.
It's hard and painful work but the changes are happening. Terrorism is getting a bad name even among their previous supporters.
Lybia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, all are experiencing a shift.

[snakeoil]

The US can have Al-Sadr just as Janet Reno- Clinton could have had David Koresh- Anytime they wanted

[PsyOp]

They sure split some pretty fine hairs at that meeting.

[Indie]

BWAHAHAHA!!! Nice try fellas. Too little, too late. The verdict is in.

[keats5]

The Arabs may just hate us enough to curb the terrorism. That would get us out of Iraq quicker.

[Nepalis]

They always do that , we needn't their " help " .

[Rome2000]

Amin Al Husseini seen inspecting his Hanzar Division made up exclusively of Muslims, mostly from the Crotia/Bosnia/Serbia region. They actively lead the genocide against Serbs, Serbian Jews and Gypsies.

Amin Al Husseini meets with Adolf Hitler in November 1942, weeks before the decision to implement the Final Solution which sent Europe's Jews to the gas chamber. The Third Reich provided Amin Al Husseini with a salary and appointed him Head of the Hanzar SS Division. The Hanzar Division was made of Nazi Muslims and implemented the genocide of 250,000 Serbs, Gypsies and Jews during WWII.

Amin Al Husseini shown here on a Nazi poster recruiting fellow Muslims to join Hitler in the fight against the West and the Jews. His disciples today include Yasser Arafat, Saddam Hussein and the leaders of Hamas, Al Qeida and Islamic Jihad.

Amin Al Husseini, future President of the World Islamic Congress (1961) and founding father of the Arab League (1944) inspects his Muslim Nazi troops, the Hanzar Division. Amin Al Husseini making the traditional nazi salute.

Yasser Arafat became a disciple of Amin Al Husseini since the age of 17. Here: recent picture of Palestinian soldiers under the leadership of Arafat making the traditional Nazi salute.

[AFPhys]

Yes, this it true. This is unquestionably a good development, long in coming, but the past period of time since Beslan has changed a whole lot. The Arabs can see where Russia and the US will be heading in concert if they don't clean up their act. The rhetoric has clearly changed this week.
/

[montag813]

Arab League condemns terrorism in Iraq, pledges to support Baghdad

They supported Zarquawi hoping it would unseat Bush. Now that they know it will not, they are scared to death of Bush 43 Part II would mean for an "unhelpful" Arab world.

[battousai]

Are they competing to see who is the least relevant between themselves and the UN? Sounds like a good way to go about it...