November 28, 2004

Nations Including Iran and Syria Condemn the Terrorist Actions in Iraq, and Support the Iraq Elections. It’s a surprising and very favorable development. One might even wonder, how could this happen?

From the UK’s TimesOnline:

Iran and Syria condemn the insurgency in Iraq

Jack Straw tonight hailed a new mood of international unity on Iraq after a gathering of key foreign ministers endorsed the elections set for January 30.

The conference in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which brought together the G8 group of industrialised nations, Iraqs neighbours and the Arab League – issued a final communique condemning terrorist violence and supporting the democratic process.

“It shows that there is a real desire in the Arab world and key countries in the international community to look forward and not back and to see this is now a shared problem,” the Foreign Secretary said.

The conference was attended by many of the leading critics of the US-led war in Iraq, including France, Germany, Russia, Iran and Syria. Present were the representatives of 20 nations, including Iraq’s six neighbors, and bodies such as the Group of Eight, the European Union and the Arab League, who came to this Red Sea resort to discuss Iraq’s future.

The conference rebuffed calls from France and some Arab states to set a deadline for withdrawing the US-led forces. But the final communique, which was approved unanimously, said pointedly that their mandate was “not open-ended.”

The communique condemned “all acts of terrorism in Iraq,” referring particularly to the kidnappings and assassinations of foreign and Iraqi civilians, aid workers, diplomats and journalists. It urged the interim government to deal firmly with terrorists, but also to avoid hurting civilians.

And from the Bloomerg news service, in an article appearing on the web site of the Assyrian International News Agency, which tracks news in the Mid-East:

Iran, Syria Condemn Iraq Insurgency, Support Election

Iran and Syria joined 18 nations in opposing the insurgency in Iraq and pledged to support the first elections since Saddam Hussein was toppled in April 2003.

The draft of a resolution adopted today at a conference on Iraq in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh backed the Iraqi government’s struggle to halt violence and restore security before elections set for Jan. 30.

Most of Iraq’s neighbors were against the US-led invasion last year. Iran and Syria are under U.S. sanctions on charges of supporting terrorist groups. Now the two countries have agreed to work to stop terrorists and weapons from crossing their borders into Iraq.

The delegates condemn all terror attacks and kidnappings and the use of “excessive force,” according to a draft of the final statement published by the official Egyptian state news agency, MENA, and confirmed by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Here’s my speculation on how this could happen. First of all, George Bush was re-elected. We are not going to cut and run in Iraq. We’re going to stay there and finish the job. And Iran and Syria have to wonder if they are next.

Our armies are on their doorstep. Iran and Syria know that the U.S. justiified the invasion of Iraq in part on the grounds that Hussein was uncooperative and belligerent. If they are cooperative and supportive of the U.S., it will be more difficult for the U.S. to justify a military move into their nations.