I posted yesterday about Saudi Arabia's endorsement of President Bush's "New Way Forward" in Iraq, today the NY Times reports that the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.) as well as Egypt and Jordan have also endorsed the plan, although they have made no commitments to help with the rebuilding effort.
The six foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, along with those of Egypt and Jordan and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, issued a statement that “welcomed the commitment” of the United States to stabilizing Iraq, but made no commitments to help stabilize or rebuild the country.
This certainly doesn't mean everything is peachy in Iraq but it is a major step forward. Couple this with yesterday's report of an agreement in principle between Syria and Israel and a stronger foundation for peace both in Iraq and regionally seems to be being laid.The Bush administration’s blunt warnings to Iran in recent days echoed throughout the session, and the official communiqué broadly criticized any nation that interfered in the internal affairs of Iraq — a clear reference to Iran, although the official document never mentioned it by name.
The Syrian representative in the talks, Ibrahim (Abe) Suleiman, an American citizen, had visited Jerusalem and delivered a message to senior officials at the Foreign Ministry regarding the Syrian wish for an agreement with Israel. The Syrians also asked for help in improving their relations with the United States, and particularly in lifting the American embargo on Syria.Although no official agreement has been reached, this is essentially the same process followed before the signing of the Oslo Accords. Probably not the strongest of examples following the intifadah, but initially there were high hopes for it's success....
Syria would also exercise its influence for a solution to the conflict in Iraq, through an agreement between Shi'a leader Muqtada Sadr and the Sunni leadership, and in addition, it would contribute to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the refugee problem.
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It also emerged that one of the Syrian messages to Israel had to do with the ties between Damascus and Tehran. In the message, the Alawi regime - the Assad family being members of the Alawi minority - asserts that it considers itself to be an integral part of the Sunni world and that it objects to the Shi'a theocratic regime, and is particularly opposed to Iran's policy in Iraq. A senior Syrian official stressed that a peace agreement with Israel will enable Syria to distance itself from Iran.
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