Commentary

Growing Arab Opposition to the War

In the scenarios developed by the Americans who planned the invasion of Iraq, Anglo-American troops would be welcomed by cheering Iraqis, eager to have coalition forces overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime. They planned to broadcast these scenes throughout the Arab world, effectively outmanoeuvring those who had warned the invasion would set the Middle East on fire. However, those scenarios have failed to materialize and, instead, we have witnessed a defiant Iraqi population and pictures of the shattered bodies of Iraqi civilians.

Since the beginning of the war, Arab media, particularly the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television network, have been reporting on and broadcasting these images of both Iraqi resistance and civilian casualties non-stop. While the "embedded" reporters travelling with U.S. and British forces have tried to focus on the technical prowess and precision capabilities of the invaders, the Arab media has focussed on the suffering of the Iraqi people. The impact of these images cannot be underestimated, especially on those who honestly believed the propaganda barrage of Blair and Bush in the weeks before the war that their actions were motivated by concern for the oppressed Iraqis and Kurds, as well as their commitments to action on the Palestinian question.

While public opinion in the U.S., Britain and Australia has shifted to some extent from open opposition to the war to a desire to bring their troops home safely, the opposite has happened in the Middle East. Those who had quietly accepted the invasion have now become its harshest critics.

In the past two weeks, an outpouring of anti-imperialist sentiment has swept the Arab world with a force unseen for decades. In Egypt, where large public gatherings are banned, tens of thousands have taken to the streets to protest the war, returning even after being beaten back by soldiers and police. There have also been mass rallies in Jordan, where the Americans had won tacit if grudging support for the war from the government. In Qatar, Syria, Iran, Libya, Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, the same scenes of mass protests are playing over and over again.

This anger, directed not just at the Anglo-American invasion but also at the regional powers who acquiesced to it, has taken some of the Arab leaders by surprise. They have been quick to move away from earlier positions, including an attempt led by the Saudis to have Saddam Hussein leave Iraq to avoid an invasion.

Even Jordan's King Abdullah, one of the most pro-American leaders in the region, has come out with a strong public statement calling for an end to the war. He also clearly stated that he shares the pain of all Jordanians at the death of innocent Iraqi martyrs killed by coalition forces.

A meeting of the 22-member Arab League on March 24 began with some delegates, whose countries are hosting U.S. troops, speaking carefully around the issue and urging a swift conclusion to the conflict. However, Libyan representative Ali al-Treiki received sustained applause when he rose and declared: "We have to raise our heads high and salute Iraqi heroism as proof that Arab individuals are capable of confronting the mighty, the coercive and the arrogant."

At the same meeting, Syria circulated a draft resolution condemning the invasion and demanding an immediate withdrawal of the occupying troops, while Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said he rejected the military invasion and the occupation that would follow, and called for an immediate withdrawal of the troops. The Syrian resolution was accepted, with only Kuwait opposing it.

The Arab League then tried to get a vote at the U.N. Security Council condemning the invasion, however, it quickly became clear that this would be vetoed by the U.S. and Britain.

On April 4, the Arab League Ambassador to the U.N., Yahya Mahmassani, said Arab nations will sponsor a resolution in the General Assembly condemning the coalition forces and calling for an immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq. None of the 191 voting countries in the General Assembly has a veto and the resolution is expected to pass.