Prometheus 6

Quote of note:

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, hinted at similar criticism on Monday when asked about the emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who donated $100 million to the American victims of Hurricane Katrina but nothing to the victims of the stampede. "I'm not condemning what he did, but he should think of Iraq," Mr. Jaafari said.

Why? "Other Arabs" believe "Iraq's plight" is America's plight...frankly, correctly so. And Qatar, in particular, knows what side its bread is buttered on. They know helping the USofA in Iraq is a different thing than helping Iraqis, and they know what their job has been since the invasion.

Leader Says Other Arabs Are Insensitive to Iraq's Plight
By ROBERT F. WORTH

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 5 - In an unusual public rebuke, President Jalal Talabani angrily criticized other Arab states on Monday, saying they had insulted Iraq by not sending diplomats to Baghdad and had not sent condolence letters about the stampede last week in which almost 1,000 Shiite pilgrims were killed.

Mr. Talabani spoke just after two dozen insurgents staged a brazen dawn raid on the heavily guarded offices of the Interior Ministry in Baghdad, killing two police officers and wounding five. Two British soldiers were also killed by a roadside bomb in southern Iraq.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Talabani, a Kurd, amplified complaints by other Iraqi leaders about the Arab states' failure to recognize the stampede, which caused the highest one-day death toll since the American-led invasion. The complaints, aimed at mostly Sunni leaders, hinted at a sectarian bias against Iraq, where Shiites are about 60 percent of the population.

"We stood with our Arab brothers in their hard times," Mr. Talabani said. "For instance, we sent a letter expressing our condolences on the terrorist attack which claimed a lot of innocent lives in Sharm el Sheik," an Egyptian resort.