March 30th, 2009 by Cecile

Marc Lynch provides a useful guide to this week’s Arab Summit taking place in Doha. He points out “[t]his isn’t just another Arab summit. It’s the first real gathering of the Obama era, and it’s a rare chance to put to rest the old habits and establish new ones.”

Unfortunately, if the start of the summit is any indication, it appears old habits die hard. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak will not be in attendance, as he is still angry over Qatari-based Al Jazeera’s critical campaign against Egypt’s position during the Gaza war. Additionally, “Egypt appears annoyed by Qatar’s attempts to project an image of being a key regional player of the same weight as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.”

It was also reported that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi stormed out of the summit this morning after criticizing Saudi’s King Abdullah and proclaiming “I am…the dean of Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of Muslims.”Meanwhile, Ban Ki-moon and Omar al-Bashir came face-to-face for the first time since the ICC ordered Bashir’s arrest.

For an in-depth analysis of the issues being addressed at this year’s summit, check out David Schenker’s backgrounder at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Posted in Arab League, Egypt, Qatar |