It seems that the Iraqi government is finally taking decisions and that should be welcomed. A couple of days ago, Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq and former member of the Iraqi Parliament, announced in Washington at the Institute of Peace, an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by the United States Congress, a proposal for the creation of a regional economic and security union for the Middle East explicitly modeled on the European Union. He said that talks on the plan with the country’s neighbors were already underway. Discussions have been launched with Kuwait, Syria and Turkey, though not yet Iran. The plan would also bring on board Jordan and Saudi Arabia and later the Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, but not Israel. The plan would look to lower trade barriers and develop joint economic projects, as well as sharing water resources and electricity. Resolving border disputes and common perspectives on combating militant extremism would also be on the agenda. “The new Iraq could convert the region into the EU model,” said Mr al-Dabbagh. If this plan becomes established, and that in the actual circumstances in the region is still a very big if, it will certainly change the dynamics of politics in the Middle East.
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