The Arab Summit in Baghdad was held amid the complicated political situation in the Middle East and the division among Arab states. A number of Arab leaders did not attend the summit which was held at a time when the Arab world is facing difficult challenges and problems.

In Iraq, the intervention of Iran has taken its toll. The sectarian conflicts in Baghdad and across the country are getting worse. The political situations in Libya, Yemen, Egypt and Syria are volatile. The division among the different sectors of society in Egypt seems to be widening. This is also true in Libya and Yemen.

The Syrian political situation, particularly, has become more worrying as the genocide being committed by the regime continues without an end in sight, despite the promise by Basher Al-Assad to support the efforts of Kofi Annan, the UN-Arab League special envoy, to put a stop to the bloodshed.

While pledging support for Annan’s peace efforts, the Syrian regime has continued its massacre of the Syrian people, especially in the cities where the opposition is strong. It seems that the Syrian regime is taking advantage of Annan’s efforts as an opportunity to annihilate the opposition and anyone whom it deems to be part of it.

The summit appears to have failed because it did not have a clear vision on how to solve the problems of the Arab world. The division among Arab countries posed a challenge that the summit was unable to overcome.

At best, the summit was an attempt on the part of Iraq to show that it is stable enough to host such an event. It was a summit seeking to find a glimpse of hope in a world full of problems and concerns.