The Arab League Returns to Iraq
An ambassador from the Arab League arrived in Baghdad on Monday, ready to reestablish a relationship with the Iraqi government. Egyptian diplomat Hani Khalaf was sent by the organization, as there has not been a representative from the Arab League stationed in Iraq in over a year. The previous ambassador, Mukhtar Lamani, quit in early 2007, citing extreme disillusionment with the organization’s lack of action in response to the suffering in Iraq.
The U.S. has urged many predominantly Sunni states in the region to renew ties with the now Shiite-led government in order to make Iraq less politically isolated from its neighbors. Many Arab states have been hesitant to do so, believing their compliance with these requests could be interpreted as endorsing or condoning the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003. Jordan was the first to jump on the bandwagon – King Abdullah II was the first leader of an Arab nation to visit the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein when he traveled to Iraq this past August.
Haley Hackendale
