CAIRO: Arab League foreign ministers met in Cairo over the weekend in an effort to bring about a unified Arab response to the Iraq crisis.
During the two days of talks, Egypt asked that an annual Arab heads of state summit due to be held in March be brought forward to next week, ahead of any possible US-led invasion of Iraq.
"It does not make sense that we all sit helplessly until the attack takes place; the danger is looming," the Egyptian President, Mr Hosni Mubarak, said on state television in advance of the meeting.
Egypt's call for a summit is the latest in a belated burst of diplomatic activity in Cairo. Last week President Mubarak hosted a meeting with the leaders of Libya and Syria and the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, and this week he will have talks with the EU before heading to France and Germany.
Usually considered a leader in regional politics, Egypt has been noticeably quiet during the current crisis. Caught between the exigencies of its relationship with the United States, from which it receives some $2 billion per year in civilian and military aid, and public anger at the US for its support of Israel and the effect of sanctions on Iraq civilians, the government is engaged in a delicate balancing act.
Along with Egypt, Arab states are united in their opposition to war in Iraq. All are worried that any military action in Iraq could lead to long-term regional instability and many, particularly those with strong ties to the US, fear that a conflict could also bring a popular backlash that could threaten their regimes.
However, most are resigned to the fact that their views hold little sway in Washington.
As Mr Mubarak himself remarked: "No one can stop the war because we do not have the military power to do so, but we can affect the decision-makers, before the war starts, to strive for a peaceful solution."
Even so, it was difficult for foreign ministers of the notoriously divided 22-member Arab League to reach agreement yesterday about how to approach the issue. Attempts to draft an open letter to the US proved contentious as moderate states tried to tone down the rhetoric demanded by hard-liners like Syria.
Some states also questioned the utility of holding a summit, echoing earlier comments by Libyan leader Moammar Gadafy, who said that such a meeting would be little more than a face-saving measure that would end up supporting the US.