Arabs voice fears of US interim government
Odai Sirri
With the United States in full control of Iraq, Arab concern over the occupation of Iraq has increased.
Today US President George W Bush sought to assure Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of an expeditious transfer of power to the Iraqi people.Egyptian state owned MENA news agency reported that the leaders “discussed the principle of the transfer of power to the Iraqi people so that they can govern their country as soon as possible.”
The collapse of security, the threat of civil war in Iraq and the US plans for a long stay in that country, have scared many, including 'moderate' Arab governments and those friendly to Washington.
The interim Iraqi government, to be led by retired general Jay Garner has
Jay Garner - director of US office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for post war Iraq
drawn criticism from a number of fronts-from being an occupying force, to Garner’s close links to hawkish Jewish groups in Israel. Garner is currently in Kuwait awaiting US military approval to move into Iraq.
Whether or not Arab governments in the region would recognise the interim government remains unclear. In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Hesham Youssef, spokesperson for the Arab League, suggested that the Arab League is not in the business of recognising governments. “This is a sovereign decision, it is not up to us [Arab League] to recognise or not recognise a government. This is up to the Arab governments themselves,” he said.
However, Youssef cast doubt that Arab support of such a government is guaranteed. “If it is a government that is run by an American, then I think it will be extremely difficult for Arab governments to agree with this. Iraq should be run by the Iraqis.”
Emad Shahin, professor of Political Science at the American University in Cairo said he feared that many in the Arab world will view Jay Garner's appointment as confirmation that Israel and Jewish groups were the main proponents of this war.
“It is a big problem, this re-enforces the position that the entire war has been waged by hardliners who maintain close ties with Israel. Many believe that Israel had a strong hand in this war.”
Shahin’s suggestion that many Arabs subscribe to this may be true, but to expect Arab governments to make similar statements publicly should not be anticipated. Arab governments will undoubtedly refrain from making similar statements publicly as to avoid antagonising the US administration.
In the face of such a massive US presence in the Arab world voices of dissent from Arab governments may be hard to come by. Recent provocative comments made from US administration officials aimed at Syria may also prevent other governments from publicly speaking out against the US occupation of Iraq in order to avoid being next on the American “hit list."
Shahin slammed the prospect of creating an interim government that will transfer power to Iraqis. “This is a very colonial idea. It’s old and has been tried many times.” Drawing on historical examples, he said that the concept behind interim governments may look good on paper, but are destined for failure.
“This was the idea behind the British and French mandates in Palestine, Egypt and Tunisia. Things on the ground however, unfold in a different way. The one or two years of interim governance easily becomes 10 or 20 years.”
He suggested that a workable alternative to US plans in Iraq would be an UN-Arab League sponsored interim administration. “This would ease the transition, build confidence and prevent the eruption of internal feuds and clashes among the Iraqis,” Shahin said.
Although many in the Arab world would prefer to see such a process take shape, they see little chance of this happening in practice as American officials become increasingly hostile to using the United Nations as a tool to promote peace.
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