Middle Eastern regimes line up behind US military crackdown in Baghdad and Basra

The gathering took place as US and Iraqi troops tightened the siege of the huge, working class slums of Sadr City in Baghdad. Hundreds of people have been killed and many more have been injured in fighting over the past month that began with an offensive against the Madhi Army militia of Moqtada al-Sadr in the southern port city of Basra. In Sadr City, home to more than two million urban poor, the basic services have collapsed. Food and medicine are in short supply. Residents remain huddled in their homes, fearful of being caught in crossfire or being struck by US missiles and bombs if they venture out.

Far from condemning these latest crimes, the foreign ministers met to discuss American demands that neighbouring Arab states give more political support to its puppet government in Baghdad by reopening their embassies and providing debt relief. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made similar demands on Monday at a separate meeting of Washingtons regional allies, held in Bahrain under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Rices message to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf States was that they had to do more to counter Iranian influence inside Iraq and across the region.

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