After almost 10 days of near paralysis, Arab nations decided this week to join the rest of the world in taking action against Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait. Remarkably, the response included agreeing not only to apply sanctions, but also to send Arab troops to help protect Saudi Arabia.
Arab involvement in the military protection of Saudi Arabia had been strongly urged by the United States, but given the strains and intimidations in the Arab world, the move is little short of amazing.The reluctant and even painful decision by the Arab League takes a great deal of pressure off the United States by making the gathering of military forces in Saudi Arabi more than just an asemblage of resented foreigners. It won't end all hatred of America because of its role as the chief sponsor of Israel, but it will reduce the U.S. profile somewhat.
The decision at an emergency meeting of 20 Arab nations in Cairo was not unanimous, but it was lopsided enough to put the weight of the Arab world behind the choice. In the 12-3 vote, the resolution was opposed only by Iraq, Libya and the PLO, a trio that hardly commands world respect. Five other governments abstained or took no position. Afterward, Iraq defiantly said it would not surrender its conquest of Kuwait.
President Bush, backed by two unanimous U.N. condemnations of Iraq, has hurried troops to Saudi Arabia to protect that oil-rich kingdom against threats and blackmail by Iraq. Yet most of the Arab world had dithered and talked about avoiding violence and seeking an "Arab solution."
In the end, the Cairo conference may have been swayed by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who argued the Arab states must get involved or face "a foreign intervention in which we have no say or control."
The Arab states delayed acting for a variety of reasons, including hostility to the West, particularly the United States for its support of Israel; resentment of the wealth of sheikdoms like Kuwait; and fear of the military power of Iraq.
These emotions are particularly strong among ordinary Arabs. While some Arab leaders are well aware of the danger posed by Iraq, they have hesitated because their own populations are heavily sprinkled with Palestinian refugees, the poor who have no sympathy for Kuwait, and radical Islamic groups that could lead revolutions against their governments.
Perhaps feeling increasingly isolated and surrounded, Iraq's Saddam Hussein lashed out at his enemies - now consisting of much of the world. In a radio broadcast, he called upon Arabs to launch a "holy war" against the West and to free the sacred city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia from U.S. occupation. That latter claim will have less force with Arab troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia.
Hussein is now backed into a corner, with most other Arab states against him and an embargo against his oil and supplies. If his situation gets desperate enough, will he finally back down? Or will he do something even more irrational and violent? On the whims of this one brutal man ride the possibilities of war or peace.