Arab League split over stance on Iraq
Foreign ministers considering emergency summit
From Ben Wedeman
CNN
CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Foreign ministers of the 22-member Arab League appeared split Sunday over what position the group should take toward possible military action against Iraq.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called Friday for an emergency summit, which state-run media said would be held the week of February 22, but the Arab League decided to conduct consultations and decide in the next two days about whether to hold one.
At the meeting, held at Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Syria said it would like Arabs to condemn any military action against Iraq. Syria said it feels the Arab countries should adopt a position that reflects Arab public opinion, rather than the position of the United States.
But Egypt, backed by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, said it wanted the onus to be put on Iraq to intensify its cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors.
There was also talk Sunday about possibly assembling a high-level Arab delegation to go to Baghdad and urge President Saddam Hussein to cooperate with the inspectors, but no decision on that matter was made.
