The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Shannon

Iraq's Arab neighbors have few remaining excuses for withholding diplomatic and economic support for the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad, now that daily life in Iraq is less deadly and the government has demonstrated resolve against militias and outliers, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday.

"At some point the Arab states need to take yes for an answer," Rice said en route to diplomatic meetings on Iraq's future. The role of Iran in Iraq and the wider Mideast is a subtext for the sessions in Bahrain and Kuwait, but Rice has ruled out holding a formal meeting with her Iranian counterpart.

The United States has tried for years to rally Arab support for a post-Saddam Iraq, both for the boost that regional acceptance would give the fledgling democracy and as a bulwark against spreading Iranian influence in Iraq and elsewhere. Arab diplomats say they want to foster long-term stability in Iraq five years after a U.S.-led invasion many of them opposed, but see little sign that the Shiite-led Iraq government will fully include Sunni Muslims in political power and oil wealth.