Today's News
- Muted Arab Summit Ends with No Lebanon Solution
The Arab Summit in Damascus drew to a close Sunday without reaching a resolution on the Lebanese crisis, which was the reason the summit was convened in the first place.
The summit was practically boycotted by major Arab nations, and even Lebanon itself was absent. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — major U.S. allies in the region — protested at Syria hosting the summit as they believe that it is responsible for the prolonging of the crisis.
- Posted on: 03/31/08
- Iraq Refuses to Endorse Summit Statement
Iraq refused to endorse the final declaration of the Arab summit on Sunday because it did not condemn terrorism in the country, a divisive end to a gathering marred by disputes and boycotts.
Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government has long accused Sunni-led Arab governments of not taking a strong enough stance against Sunni Arab fighters who made up the backbone of Iraq’s insurgency.
- Posted on: 03/31/08
- Abbas Declares Desire to End Fatah-Hamas Rift
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday declared his willingness to patch up his differences with Hamas and called for international and Arab protection for the Palestinians who, he said, were being subjected to killings and theft of their land by Israel on a daily basis.
Addressing the 20th Arab summit in Damascus, Abbas condemned Israel for its various measures against the Palestinians, warning that such actions would sabotage the peace process.
- Posted on: 03/31/08
- A New Report on Hariri’s Murder
Faced with an embarrassingly low turnout of heads of state at this weekend’s annual Arab summit in Damascus, the Syrian hosts at least escaped being singled out for blame in the latest progress report into the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister.
The report, released by a UN commission investigating the February 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, stated that the former Lebanese premier was killed by a "network of individuals" also suspected of being linked to some of the other assassinations to have plagued Lebanon in the past three years.
- Posted on: 03/31/08
Setting the Record Straight
Summit In Name Only
"The Damascus summit has succeeded in overcoming all sorts of pressures, starting from the statements of U.S. officials and their desire not to hold the summit, or their desire for non- participation."
–Syrian state-owned paper Al-Baath, March 28, 2008
VS.
"It’s a sad fact that the fate of the Arab summit is already doomed to failure. The absence of key Arab leaders from this summit can only be interpreted as a political indictment of the host country over its policies, especially in Lebanon. It’s a summit only in name."
–Osama al-Sharif, editor in chief, Jordanian daily Al-Dustour, March 26, 2008
Today's Feature
A Snub for Syria
by The Boston Globe, Editorial
The most immediate source of discontent is with Assad’s role in preventing the Lebanese government from voting for a new president to replace outgoing Syrian puppet Emile Lahoud. … For Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and some of the other stay-at-homes, however, Syria’s spoiler role in Lebanon is only a sideshow. The ultimate cause of their rancor is Assad’s alliance with Iran, the ascendant regional power that stands outside the Arab League. …
If there is a remedy for the Arab angst
"Discord among the Arab states is hardly new but is rarely expressed in public. This gesture is a sign of growing exasperation–most of all over Assad's ties with Iran."
Middle East Analysis
- Summit of Frustration
Substantial progress at Arab summits is rare. Habitual divisions have marked previous gatherings and have been usually papered over by a convenient consensus on generalities. But when half the leaders of the Damascus summit do not show up, the chances of reaching any sort of breakthrough considerably lessens, and the odds are further shortened when one of the principal parties of the very dispute which has kept so many leaders away, in this case Lebanon, boycotts altogether.
The nonparticipation of so
- Posted on: 03/31/08
Background Basics
- The 2008 Arab League Summit
The 20th Arab League summit was held in Damascus, Syria from March 29-30. Arab League summits are held annually. Head of state representation is usually expected. While personal disputes among leaders often lead to no-shows at the summit, the notable absences at this year’s summit are more critical than usual—ten of the Arab League’s 22 heads of state did not attend. Below is a list of each country’s level of representation and an analysis of the
- Posted on: 03/31/08
Heard on the Street
- Lebanon, Who Decides?
Hesham Youssef, chief of cabinet of Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, March 27, 2008:
“It is … important that Syria acknowledges the concerns of certain Arab countries over the continuation of divisions in Lebanon, and their impact on regional stability. It is equally important for other Arab countries to accept that the influence of Syria, ultimately, has a ceiling and that Damascus is not the only player in Lebanon.”
- Posted on: 03/31/08
Upcoming Events
- No End in Sight: Conversations on Iraq
Keynote Address:
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)Introduction by:
Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President of National Security and International Policy, Center for American ProgressFeatured Speaker:
Charles Ferguson, author, No End in SightModerated by:
Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American ProgressWhen: March 13, 2008, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Where: Center for American Progress, 1333 H St, NW, Washington, DC. 20005
RSVP for event or click here for more information
- Posted on: 03/10/08
- Middle East Progress
- 1333 H St. NW, Floor 10
- Washington, DC 20005
- info@middleeastprogress.org
