sharm el-sheikh conference:
This week, the foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbouring countries, along with Egypt and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and other members of the G8, are meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh to discuss ways of lending political support to the beleaguered Iraqi government as it struggles to establish a semblance of authority in a country largely beyond its control. The consultations precede the launching of the so-called "International Compact with Iraq" in a two- day conference to be held in the Red Sea resort, Thursday, through Friday with the expected participation of 40 delegations of concerned countries and organisations, similarly meant to help bolster Iraq's increasingly unpopular Shia-dominated government.
(...) Not all participants in this week's consultative meetings agree with this sentiment. Many privately believe the meetings are not so much about lending support to the Iraqi government as helping address the anxieties of the Bush administration, at a time when signs abound of its failure in Iraq. Many Arab and non-Arab diplomats who spoke to the Weekly said this week's event was essentially a photo opportunity for the American press.
(...) In the text of statements to be adopted tomorrow evening, the Iraqi government receives qualified recognition from participants for its efforts to induce a semblance of stability in Iraq. On the other hand, the text includes demands that the Iraqi government take clear steps towards revising many of the policies that until now have been a source of pride for the Shia-dominated ruling regime -- in particular the revision of its stance on de- Baathification.
(...) Meanwhile, no agreement seems in the offing on the controversial issue of the distribution of Iraq's oil revenues, which is a source of considerable inter-Iraqi conflict. Also, no agreement, spoken or unspoken, is forthcoming on the long-standing request of the Iraqi government that Arab diplomatic representation return to Baghdad. Silence also surrounded the so far inconclusive security plan adopted by the Iraqi government, as well as US plans to construct separation walls that many see as sectarian, in dozens of Baghdad neighbourhoods.
(...) Overall, despite commitments with regards to the cancelling of some Iraqi debts, not much was expected to come out of this week's meetings in terms of concrete action. In the words of one informed Arab diplomat, "there is not even firm evidence that whatever good intentions were reflected in the meetings, including from the Iraqi side, would be translated into executive policies."
(...) George W Bush and Congressional Democrats over the funding of the war in Iraq, in the wake of Bush vetoing a military spending bill that included a timetable for US withdrawal. The veto came exactly four years after Bush, speaking aboard a US aircraft carrier under a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner, declared "major combat operations" over in Iraq, following the US-led invasion of March 2003.