Arab Summit Shows Sharp Divisions on Iraq
By SARAH EL DEEB The Associated Press Saturday, March 1, 2003; 12:58 PM An Arab summit aimed at finding unity over the Iraq crisis showed sharp divisions Saturday as Saudi Arabia's crown prince and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi shouted insults at each other and the United Arab Emirates called on Saddam Hussein to step down. The Emirates' proposal marked the first time an Arab nation has openly proposed the Iraqi leadership quit to spare the region war. Other nations did not discuss the proposal - because they "didn't have the courage," the Emirates information minister said, in a further sign of the summit's bitterness. After the angry exchange between the Libyan and Saudi leaders, a live international broadcast of the summit was cut off, and diplomats said other leaders had to persuade Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah not to leave the gathering. The one-day summit ended soon after with a declaration expressing "complete rejection of any aggression on Iraq" and calling for giving inspections more time. It also urged Baghdad to abide by U.N. demands it surrender weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. Leaders had come into the 22-member Arab League summit in the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheik already deeply split. Some countries - particularly in the Persian Gulf - argue war is inevitable and say the region should be planning for the aftermath. A second camp, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, insist war can be avoided if Iraq cooperates fully with U.N. weapons inspectors. A third camp - led by Syria - wanted the summit to make an unequivocal anti-war declaration. UAE President Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan proposed that Arab states press Saddam and his leadership to give up power in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Iraq's U.N. ambassador, Mohammed Al-Douri, speaking to CNN from New York, repeated that Saddam would not resign. Observers emerging from the Arab leaders' closed discussions said without elaboration that Iraqi delegates reacted angrily to Sheik Zayed's proposal. During an open session, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam's top deputy, ignored the proposal and accused the United States of wanting to destroy and colonize the Arab world. A U.S. ally, Sheik Zayed issued his proposal one day after White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the only way for Iraq to avoid war is "disarmament and regime change." In contrast, Syrian President Bashar Assad, during the summit's opening session, accused the United States of seeking not to topple a dictatorial regime but to secure Iraq's "oil and redrawing the region's map and destroying Iraq's infrastructure." "We are all targeted ... we are all in danger," Assad said. Later, Gadhafi, a sharp critic of what he calls lack of Arab unity, said in his speech that Saudi Arabia had formed "an alliance with the devil" when it asked U.S. troops to protect it from Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. Abdullah interrupted angrily from across the room, calling Gadhafi "an agent for colonizers." "Don't talk or get involved in things which are not your business," Abdullah told the Libyan. The final statement, released after the session, made no mention of ideas floated before the session for sending a delegation to Baghdad to deliver a message to Saddam - either vaguely suggesting he quit or pressing him to cooperate with inspectors. Instead, the statement said Arab leaders agreed to form a committee to "explain the Arab position" to the United Nations and to consult with Iraq. It said U.N. weapons inspectors should be given enough time to carry out their mission. The communique stressed Arab countries should refrain from carrying out any military action against Iraq. It did not address the issue of tens of thousands of U.S. troops being given logistical support in the region, mostly in Kuwait, ahead of a possible war. Countries hosting U.S. forces are not expected to actively participate in any war. The communique added political change in the Arab world "is a matter to be decided by the people of the region according to national interests, away from outside interference." Emirates Information Minister Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan told reporters the proposal made by his father, Sheik Zayed, was not seriously considered because the "Arab League doesn't have the courage to discuss it." The Emirates' Sheik Zayed, in his 80s and in poor health, did not attend the summit but sent his vice president with a letter proposing that the Iraqi leadership "step down and leave Iraq ... within two weeks of adopting this Arab initiative." He said Arabs should "play a major role in (persuading Saddam to step down), something which might amount to the miracle needed to overcome this looming danger" of war. Iraq should then be governed by the Arab League and the United Nations until it could return to "its normal situation according to the will of the brotherly Iraqi people." Sheik Zayed said the Iraqi leadership should be given legal guarantees that it would not face prosecution but did not specify any charges. Iraqi dissidents accuse Saddam of crimes against humanity for bloody crackdowns on minorities, including using chemical weapons on rebelling Kurds.
