Rice Presses Iraq’s Neighbors to Give It More Support

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Rice Presses Iraq’s Neighbors to Give It More Support

By ROBERT F. WORTH

Published: April 22, 2008

KUWAIT — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for greater financial and diplomatic support for Iraq during a meeting with Arab foreign ministers in Bahrain on Monday, but she did not appear to have won any new commitments.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with counterparts from eight Arab countries and Iraq, Ms. Rice said the talks had included the issue of whether other countries in the region would send ambassadors to Baghdad and whether they would forgive Iraq’s billions of dollars in debt, along with other pressing issues like violence in Gaza and the Lebanese political crisis.

“A number of countries around the table talked about their desire to have permanent representatives” in Baghdad, Ms. Rice said. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have pledged to send ambassadors to Iraq, and Ms. Rice and Iraqi officials have hinted at their frustration with a lack of action on that promise.

On debt relief, Ms. Rice said that the terms under which countries would agree to cancel some of the debt had long been known, and that “it’s just a matter of getting the negotiations done.” Much of Iraq’s debt has been forgiven, but most of the remaining $67 billion is owed to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

There was one modest note of progress: the ministers agreed that Iraq would be included in future gatherings of the states present on Monday — a gesture Ms. Rice called “a very good step forward for the reintegration of Iraq into regional affairs.”

Ms. Rice, who was in Iraq on Sunday, will take part in a broader international meeting here on Tuesday aimed at securing more support for Iraq, and following up on two similar efforts last year, in Egypt and Turkey.

In seeking greater support for Iraq, Ms. Rice has emphasized the need to counter Iran’s influence in the region. She has talked with her counterparts in Sunni Arab states about Iraq’s new resolve to fight Shiite militias — which the United States contends are armed by Iran — in Basra and Baghdad.

But since the ouster of the minority Sunni-dominated government of Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s government has been led by Shiites with their own links to Iran, a fact that has made Iraq’s Sunni Arab neighbors very uneasy.

The Arab states have other reasons for their unease. The Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad was bombed in 2003, and Egypt’s envoy there was kidnapped and killed in 2005. Violence in Iraq has recently risen, despite a long-term decline over the past year.

Source

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Yeah I can imagine the incredulous looks she got -- "You mean, you guys spent 513 billion dollars to destroy Iraq, but now you think we oughta help foot the bill to clean up your mess ???"

I'm surprised they didn't laugh in her face.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Part of that 513 billion has been rebuilding Iraq. One officer in my World Politics and War class reported he built 16 schools 19 play grounds 23 new bridges ect... That is just one officer of one branch of one division of one term served in Iraq. Imagine what else we have done and continue to do without the support of the rest of the world in rebuilding this nation. It wasn't all destroying.

Yeah I can imagine the incredulous looks she got -- "You mean, you guys spent 513 billion dollars to destroy Iraq, but now you think we oughta help foot the bill to clean up your mess ???"

I'm surprised they didn't laugh in her face.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Part of that 513 billion has been rebuilding Iraq. One officer in my World Politics and War class reported he built 16 schools 19 play grounds 23 new bridges ect... That is just one officer of one branch of one division of one term served in Iraq. Imagine what else we have done and continue to do without the support of the rest of the world in rebuilding this nation. It wasn't all destroying.

OMG there IS a silver lining after all !! More than 600,000 dead because of a war built on deliberate lies, hundreds of thousands more turned into refugees, the country in ruins, the infrastructure destroyed, law and order gone, kidnappings and murders and bombings every day, and the whole place turned into an "incubator for terrorists" who weren't even there before -- but we should just look on the bright side !! I mean, we built a few schools and playgrounds and bridges to replace the tens of thousands that we destroyed !! Go Us !!!!

Wow -- that really made me feel so much better about the whole thing.

I guess I should let one of our members with an Iraqi SO have a crack at this thread before I go further.

[sandinista! 1,816]

Part of that 513 billion has been rebuilding Iraq. One officer in my World Politics and War class reported he built 16 schools 19 play grounds 23 new bridges ect... That is just one officer of one branch of one division of one term served in Iraq. Imagine what else we have done and continue to do without the support of the rest of the world in rebuilding this nation. It wasn't all destroying.

OMG there IS a silver lining after all !! More than 600,000 dead because of a war built on deliberate lies, hundreds of thousands more turned into refugees, the country in ruins, the infrastructure destroyed, law and order gone, kidnappings and murders and bombings every day, and the whole place turned into an "incubator for terrorists" who weren't even there before -- but we should just look on the bright side !! I mean, we built a few schools and playgrounds and bridges to replace the tens of thousands that we destroyed !! Go Us !!!!

Wow -- that really made me feel so much better about the whole thing.

I guess I should let one of our members with an Iraqi SO have a crack at this thread before I go further.

i bet you hate kittens, sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns too, you big meanie.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I don't have the energy to keep up with two attacks or further educate on the politics of war. I could try to help members who are stuck on the typical points of misperceptions that lead to the war.

I could help to explain the western model of this war and where it's leads if we stay or if we go and give very valid arguments to both points to help you both make a more educated choice about your words. But getting to that point with either of you, knowing from past points where your bias lies, would be impressive and also a refreshing progressive thinking discussion which I don't feel either of you are ready to face.

The arguments you present are typical in the first stages but getting past it for those who take the opportunity of free speech and free media to only vent about the injustices of the current situation are neither offering a credible solution or vision for what to come. If we could focus on a solution and avoid complaining then I feel this would be more productive use of this thread for whats at stake in the Middle East.

Edited April 23, 2008 by Olivia*

[sandinista! 1,816]

morality and common sense are pretty tough nuts to crack. i understand completely why you'd want to take a pass.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I don't have the energy to keep up with two attacks or further educate on the politics of war. I could try to help members who are stuck on the typical points of misperceptions that lead to the war.

I could help to explain the western model of this war and where it's leads if we stay or if we go and give very valid arguments to both points to help you both make a more educated choice about your words. But getting to that point with either of you, knowing from past points where your bias lies, would be impressive and also a refreshing progressive thinking discussion which I don't feel either of you are ready to face.

The arguments you present are typical in the first stages but getting past it for those who take the opportunity of free speech and free media to only vent about the injustices of the current situation are neither offering a credible solution or vision for what to come. If we could focus on a solution and avoid complaining then I feel this would be more productive use of this thread for whats at stake in the Middle East.

I'll respond to this when I stop laughing.

[SaadBell 0]

[aisha kandisha 0]

I don't have the energy to keep up with two attacks or further educate on the politics of war. I could try to help members who are stuck on the typical points of misperceptions that lead to the war.

I could help to explain the western model of this war and where it's leads if we stay or if we go and give very valid arguments to both points to help you both make a more educated choice about your words. But getting to that point with either of you, knowing from past points where your bias lies, would be impressive and also a refreshing progressive thinking discussion which I don't feel either of you are ready to face.

The arguments you present are typical in the first stages but getting past it for those who take the opportunity of free speech and free media to only vent about the injustices of the current situation are neither offering a credible solution or vision for what to come. If we could focus on a solution and avoid complaining then I feel this would be more productive use of this thread for whats at stake in the Middle East.

Whose bias?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Well since there is nothing constructive to be added further by anyone there is nothing more to discuss.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Well since there is nothing constructive to be added further by anyone there is nothing more to discuss.

rough crowd, eh?

[EgyptianLove 0]

Well since there is nothing constructive to be added further by anyone there is nothing more to discuss.

you shouldn't say that just because some people don't agree with what you said earlier

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

How can I put it in a nice way Charles? They think they are in the right which isn't a position I am aiming for. I could unpack every theory they base their arguments on with literature from the brightest political scientist of our time but this would be an exercise in futility with this crowd. I'm not trying to get in an argument here as much as inform people on current events but the ones that choose to respond are the emotionally impassioned which is challenging for me to manage the antagonist attacks who only see what they select instead of the bigger picture.

Well since there is nothing constructive to be added further by anyone there is nothing more to discuss.

rough crowd, eh?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

And what is the point of this comment. Please clarify?

Well since there is nothing constructive to be added further by anyone there is nothing more to discuss.

you shouldn't say that just because some people don't agree with what you said earlier