Who asked you?

It seems the Arab ministers want a say in the Iraqi elections. In fact they think they get to decide.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, hosting the conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh said the meeting would be deciding whether the vote could be held on time, adding that "the question needs to be re-examined".

Despite the fact that they haven't lifted a finger to help Iraq, and in fact, some members are actively working against Iraqi democracy, they still don't mind effusive hand-wringing over the situation.

"We support all the measures taken for the conduct of the elections with the participation of the factions of the Iraqi people," Jordanian government spokeswoman Asma Khodr said in Amman.

But she added: "We are worried that the conditions could prevent the realisation of that objective ... The situation in Iraq worries us and we think it could have negative repercussions on holding the general elections on the date fixed."

In Syria, the state-owned daily Ath-Thawra said that the Sharm el-Sheikh conference represented "the best chance for the international parties to affirm the importance of the United Nations and neighbouring countries" in organizing the elections.

But it also warned: "The elections must take place on all Iraqi territory and not on 75 percent of the country as the United States hints at due to the insecurity in regions where resistance actions are taking place."

Your concern is noted. Now if you'll just stop allowing terrorists to cross the border....

I'll bet that Iran and Syria will try hard to keep the elections from going forward, but they will fail. The Iraqis really don't care what they think anymore.