“Stillborn” precisely describes the Arab summit which was held in Damascus last weekend. The event appeared doomed even before it began; many Arab States had already reduced representation to the minimal level, differences between Arab rulers made any joint Arab action next to impossible, and Arabs appeared powerless before any adverse conditions. In case of Egypt neither the president nor the Foreign Minister attended; Egypt delegated Mufid Shehab, Minister of State for legal and parliamentary affairs to represent it.
Despite wide Arab rejection of the Syrian role in Lebanon and the subsequent inability to elect a Lebanese president, and despite the huge efforts of Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, he failed to bring about an end to the deadlock.
Equally impotent were efforts to work out some sort of reconciliation or settlement between Fateh and Hamas in Gaza. With Syrian and Iranian backing and financing, Hamas is not ceding any of its power neither is it halting missile attacks against Israel, the outcome being the Israeli harsh blockade against Gaza. And it is the Palestinian people who pay the price.
As far as Iraq is concerned, any solution to the everyday violence and bloodshed appears to be in US hands. Closer relations with other Arab countries, whether on the political or neighbourly level, are suspended till the US elections are over.
Sudan’s troubles are basically absent from Arab agendas, since most Arab countries realise that, having failed to achieve any effective intermediary role in the Sudanese crises in the South and Darfur, their role in Sudan has become marginal.
So is it any surprise that the Arab summit has effectively ended even before it started? Summits are, after all, valued for the ability of the participants to adopt joint stances and take definite decisions which they implement and realise on the ground. As such, neither the Damascus summit nor any other appear worthwhile, since joint Arab stances are no reality. At this point in time, the interests of Arabs and/or their leaders are just too far apart.