Hopefully, with the Arabs closer to a united front, the Bush Administration will not abdicate it's leadership role again and abandon what may be the last great change for peace between Sunni moderate states and Israel.
International Herald Tribune
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Arab leaders on Wednesday that the American occupation of Iraq was illegal and warned that unless Arab governments settled their differences, foreign powers like the United States would continue to dictate the region's politics.
The king's speech, at the opening of the Arab League meeting here, underscored growing differences between Saudi Arabia and the Bush administration as the Saudis take on a greater leadership role in the Middle East, partly at American urging.
The Saudis seem to be emphasizing that they will not be beholden to the policies of their longtime ally.
[..]In addition, Abdullah invited President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to Riyadh earlier this month, while the Americans want him shunned. And in trying to settle the tensions in Lebanon, the Saudis have been willing to negotiate with Iran and Hezbollah.
Last week the Saudi king canceled his appearance next month at a White House dinner in his honor, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The official reason given was a scheduling conflict, the paper said.
Mustapha Hamarneh, director of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, said the Saudis were sending Washington a message. "They are telling the U.S. they need to listen to their allies rather than imposing decisions on them and always taking Israel's side," Hamarneh said.
In his speech, the king said, "In the beloved Iraq, the bloodshed is continuing under an illegal foreign occupation and detestable sectarianism."
He added: "The blame should fall on us, the leaders of the Arab nation, with our ongoing differences, our refusal to walk the path of unity. All that has made the nation lose its confidence in us."
King Abdullah has not publicly spoken so harshly about the American-led military intervention in Iraq before, and his remarks suggest that his alliance with Washington may be less harmonious than administration officials have been hoping.
[..]King Abdullah said the loss of confidence in Arab leaders had allowed American and other forces to hold significant sway in the region. "If confidence is restored it will be accompanied by credibility," he said, "and if credibility is restored then the winds of hope will blow, and then we will never allow outside forces to define our future nor allow banners to be raised in Arab lands other than those of Arabism, brothers."
The Saudis sought to enforce discipline on the two-day meeting, reminding Arab leaders and dignitaries to stay on message and leave here with some solution in hand.
"The weight of the Saudis has ensured that this will be a problem-free summit," said Ayman Safadi, editor in chief of the Jordanian daily Al Ghad. "Nobody is going to veer from the message and go against the Saudis. But that doesn't mean the problems themselves will be solved."
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations gave a stark assessment in an address to the meeting, saying the region was "more complex, more fragile and more dangerous than it has been for a very long time."
There is a shocking daily loss of life in Iraq, he said, and Somalia is in the grip of "banditry, violence and clan rivalries."
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