Arab rulers will hold a summit in Cairo on March 1st-2nd to try to avert an Anglo-US war on Iraq.
The summit had been scheduled for a later date in Bahrain. By moving the date forward, Arab leaders hope to delay the onset of war and give time to the UN weapons inspectors.
During intensive consultations during recent days, Arabs leaders formulated a list of demands, which has been put to Washington and London.
First, the Arabs insist that the Iraqi army should be kept intact and its Sunni (Orthodox) Muslim commanders should be granted amnesty. Arab leaders see the army as the sole institution which can maintain the territorial integrity and internal stability of Iraq.
The Arab leaders, all Sunnis, argue that by granting amnesty to Iraqi army commanders, the US would encourage them to amount a coup against President Saddam Hussein, sparing the region the high political risks of a devastating war.
There is a genuine fear among the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt that war could precipitate anarchy, allowing the majority Iraqi Shia (heterodox) community, which could align itself with Shia Iran, to take power. This could upset the political balance within the Arab and Muslim worlds, dominated by the 90 per cent majority Sunni community.
"The Americans should not break the backbone of the army and demoralise it because when they get into the serious task of maintaining order and stability in [largely Shia] tribal Iraq they will need the help of the military," an Arab envoy said.
"Everybody looks at the Turkish model. The army will be the guarantor to preserve the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq. The army will ensure smooth regime change," he added.
Second, envoys are reportedly seeking assurances that President Saddam, his family and close aides could be given safe passage to a country of exile, possibly Syria, as an alternative to war.
If he were to choose this option, Iraq would be spared a third crippling war in two decades. While there have been suggestions that President Saddam might be prepared to abdicate in favour of his younger son, Qusai, who commands the elite Republican Guard and heads the country's internal intelligence agencies, the younger son would not be acceptable to Washington.
The Arabs are suggesting that key figures in the current government might be retained to ensure an easy transition to a new order.
Third, the Arabs want guarantees given that Iraq's administrative structures would remain in tact after a war in order to maintain the unity of the country and continuity of governance. The Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al Faisal, reportedly raised these points with President Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Turkish envoys are promoting the same message.
Iraq's neighbours, particularly Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Syria, agree that Iraq must not fragment into ethnic and religious cantons because this would pose a serious threat to the stability of the entire area.
"Everybody is putting their heads together to try and find a peaceful exit because the stakes are too high if there is a war," one Arab official said.
