MIDDLE EAST: Arab leaders are coming under increasingly sharp criticism from Arab commentators for failing to match Germany, France, Belgium, Russia and China, who are opposing aspects of US policy over Iraq.
Abdelbari Atwan, editor of the London-based pan-Arab newspaper, Al-Quds al-Arabi, castigated the Egyptian president, Mr Hosni Mubarak, who, following a meeting with the leaders of Syria and Libya last weekend, "brought us the glad tidings that the Arabs can do nothing to prevent or postpone the war on Iraq".
With Europe polarising into pro- and anti-war camps, Atwan wrote: "We would have expected the [tripartie] summit to produce an Arab position in support of the latter, but as usual we were disappointed."
Khaled al-Shami, also writing in Al-Quds al-Arabi, said Mr Mubarak appeared to be positioning himself to come out in support of the Bush administration over Iraq and made the point that the Egyptian leader's remark coincided with an officially-inspired media campaign denouncing President Saddam Hussein.
Following last week's visit to the US by Mr Gamal Mubarak, the president's son, and other high- ranking Egyptian officials, Cairo was, according to Shami, "advised to hitch a ride on the American train before it is too late, in order to prevent Egypt from being excluded from post-war arrangements and deprived of economic and political dividends".
There was no excuse, in Shami's view, for the failure of the Arabs to support European efforts to ensure that UN weapons inspectors be given the time and latitude to complete their task in Iraq.
Talal Salman, publisher and chief editor of Beirut's al-Safir, said Arab leaders fear they will be associated in US eyes with the Iraqi president if they oppose the US plans for war.
"They were reduced to appeasing Washington at any cost, and it was natural for them to defer any discussion of Iraq until they had reassured themselves that they had regained [US] approval."
While they have cracked down on popular manifestations of protest against US policy, they have failed to forge a common stand," he said.
