Arab League's Iraq diplomat resigns; criticizes everyone

"The Arab League sent Mokhtar Lamani to Iraq to persuade its bitterly divided Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders to make peace. He failed, and has now resigned.
. . . He says his mission was doomed by feeble support from the Arab governments that hired him, U.S. policies and the refusal of Iraq's leaders to work together.
. . . Throughout [his 8 months in Baghded], Lamani was working on the main goal of his mission, which was little noticed in the West: to convene a national reconciliation conference between Iraq's fractious parties and sectarian groups.
. . . Iraq lacks the key requisite for reconciliation _ trust, Lamani told AP.
. . . In his Jan. 22 resignation letter . . . Lamani said of the Iraqi leaders: 'My only problem was their own relations with each other, their strong feeling that each is a victim of the other.'
. . . Lamani said he ultimately blames Washington for Iraq's deterioration. 'Its ways of dealing with the Iraqi problems, including the Iranian intervention, are not right.'
. . . Lamani also faults the 22 nations of the Arab League, saying they did not give Iraq 'the necessary priority or seriousness.'

source
Sinan, Omar. (The Associated Press). Arab Diplomat Resigns After Iraq Mission. February 4, 2007.

posted: tuesday, february 6, 2007, 9:02 AM ET

tags: iraq arab league