Gulf Arabs eye Iraq role to counter Iran

By Lin Noueihed - Analysis

DUBAI (Reuters) - Gulf Arab pledges to revive high-level diplomatic ties with Iraq reflect a growing awareness that only engagement with the Shi'ite-led government can counter the spreading influence of Shi'ite Muslim Iran.

Sunni Arab governments who once funded Iraq's 1980-1988 war against Iran have held back from establishing top diplomatic ties with Baghdad since the U.S.-led war toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, citing security concerns and extensive Iranian sway.

No Arab ambassador has been stationed in Iraq since Egypt's envoy was kidnapped and killed shortly after arriving in 2005.

But in a step toward easing Iraq's diplomatic isolation, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan on Thursday became the first Gulf Arab foreign minister to visit Iraq since the war.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have all pledged to reopen their embassies and appoint ambassadors to Baghdad amid U.S. pressure to shore up the Iraqi government.

No ambassadors have yet been named and Gulf Arab countries have dragged their feet on promises of debt relief, but analysts say they realize they must play a more active role in Iraq if they are to swing the political balance back in their direction.

"There is a Gulf Arab assessment that the government has not done enough on political reconciliation, on disarming militias and on bringing back Sunni elements to the ruling structure," said Christian Koch, Director of International Studies at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre.

"At the same time, there is a recognition that the Gulf Arab countries have a role to play in Iraq and that by not being at the table they are leaving it all to the Iranians."

SUNNI CONCERNS

Sectarian fighting between Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs threatened to erupt into civil war in 2006, prompting the United States to increase its troop presence in a strategic rethink and enflaming public opinion in some Sunni Arab countries.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries have said they want to see the government of Nuri al-Maliki engage in more political reconciliation with the Sunni Arab minority, which naturally looks to the surrounding Sunni Arab neighborhood for support.

Since becoming prime minister in May 2006, Maliki has faced criticism from Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs that he has promoted the interests of majority Shi'ites ahead of others.

But he has also won praise for cracking down on Shi'ite militias in Baghdad and the southern oil city of Basra and the government has begun releasing Sunni Arab prisoners under a new amnesty law, going some way to easing Gulf Arab concerns.

"For all the reservations on Maliki, things are moving forward in Iraq. Also, Sunni Arabs are beginning to engage in a more normal way... rallying against al Qaeda... while some want to enter the political mainstream," said Dubai-based political analyst Neil Partrick.

"They are not naive enough to think that the Maliki government has made a 180 degree change, but they recognize that there has been progress."