Arab nations must help in Iraq

Arab nations can no longer afford to stand to one side and allow the daily carnage in Iraq to continue. There must be involvement by Arab leaders and negotiators if it is ever likely the country will return to some semblance of normality. It is obvious the US-led forces, combined with the newly trained Iraqi army and police, are totally incapable of getting on top of the situation. Worse, it is apparent there is no solution forthcoming from anyone to ensure Iraq does not completely collapse into civil war and divide into the various sects vying for supremacy.

Admittedly the interim government, prior to the present elected body, stated it had no wish for neighbouring countries to be involved in the strife, fearing such assistance would lead to complete invasion and loss of sovereignty. Equally, many neighbouring Arab leaders expressed a desire to not intervene, predicting the very quagmire in which the allied forces now find themselves. So a mutual hands-off was agreed by Iraq and its neighbours, leaving it to the US and others to try and restore peace to Iraq. But the US has failed and violence gets worse every day, so something must be done.

This is when Arab nations must collectively decide upon action. There are many things that can be done, from offering men and matériel to help in the peacekeeping tasks, to ensuring greater efforts are made to stop insurgents seeping through the porous borders on all sides of Iraq.

For without concerted action by Arabs to help a brother nation, it is likely the conflicts in Iraq will continue without end. Arab associations at various levels of inter-government co-operation should demonstrate their unity with Iraqis and help them attain peace though action, not merely quietly spoken words of support.