Arab nations plan for Iraq civil war

[kpete]

Arab nations plan for Iraq civil war
Diplomat: Heading off Iranian influence a topic in secret talks

Wednesday, April 5, 2006 Posted: 0125 GMT (0925 HKT)

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Top intelligence officers from several Arab countries and Turkey have been meeting secretly to coordinate strategies in case civil war erupts in Iraq and in an attempt to block Iran's interference in the war-torn nation, Arab diplomats said Tuesday.

The meetings came after several Arab leaders voiced concerns about possible Shiite domination of Iraq and sect leaders' alliance with Iran.

The four diplomats said intelligence chiefs from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and non-Arab Turkey held a series of meetings over the past few weeks to assess the situation in Iraq and work out plans to avoid any regional backlash that may result from sectarian conflict in Iraq.

The diplomats in several Middle Eastern capitals, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Iran and Syria have been excluded from the talks.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/04/arabs.iraq.secret.talks.ap/index.html

[annabanana]

1. Thank God SOMEone's doing some planning over there...

We all know that planning is a foreign concept to this Whitehouse. I wish them well in their deliberations.

[acmavm]

2. In case a civil war breaks out? In light of the fact that they are

finding bodies in groups of 40 at at time, I wonder what constitutes a civil war?