CAIRO, 2 April 2003 — Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa has said that while the chances to end the war on Iraq are meager, working to stop this devastating war was everybody's political duty.
In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat daily, a sister publication of Arab News, he said despite the strong and surprising Iraqi resistance, US and British forces were continuing their push toward Baghdad.
"If Arabs had taken a unified stand, this war would not have taken place. They could have stopped it on the first day if they had stood united," Moussa told the Arabic daily.
The Arab League chief acknowledged that there was division among the Arab countries on the war. "We don't want to hide these differences," he added.
Moussa saluted the Arab people for their united stand against the war. "All Arabs oppose the war, but the present situation has made it difficult for the Arab League to play its role," he pointed out.
He disclosed that the Arab League had not contacted the United States and Britain to end the ongoing war. "But we established contacts with the United Nations and the European Union for the purpose," he added.
How the Arab League would deal with the new Iraq after the downfall of Saddam Hussein's regime would be decided later, he said. "Things may not happen as some people have thought. However, we'll follow up every development and see how the Arab League can help Iraq in its future," he added.
He expected that the Arab stand would definitely change if the war continues. "When we have a joint Arab stand at government level, not only at the public level, believe me, the Arabs will have an effective position, quite different from what is happening now," he said.
Moussa said growing Arab weakness was hampering his organization's mission. "As long as the Arab stand remains weak it will reflect on the Arab League and the future of the Arab community," he added.
He stressed the need for restructuring the Arab system. "The Arab League will not be able to continue in the present form. The Arab system as a whole must be reviewed and this requires consensus of opinion."
Moussa hoped that the war would help bring about a new and stronger Arab organization, just as World War II had seen the launch of the United Nations.
"As secretary-general of the Arab League I am not concerned with whether the league should remain or not. My concern is the Arab interest and the strategy of Arab countries," he pointed out.
