DAVOS: Iraq’s leaders are facing an acid test in coming weeks as the Iraqi and US military launch their new security programme to flush out militants and death squads district by district.

But to Iraq’s government, the real key to long-term success is its neighbours: will they begin to give their genuine support, and can Iran and Syria be persuaded – or pressured – to end the conduct that Iraq says is giving oxygen to insurgents, militias and death squads inside Iraq? These were among the themes expressed by a number of Iraqi leaders and foreign policy experts circulating at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week. Among them were Iraqi Vice-President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and Adnan Pachachi, a former foreign minister and Sunni elder statesman who is now in parliament.

All were painfully aware that patience for the war is ebbing among the US public, and that they must move quickly to solidify their authority and stamp out violence.

One initiative now being pushed aggressively by the Iraqi leadership is to convene in Baghdad a regional meeting of foreign ministers from Iraq’s neighbours, including the Gulf countries, Syria, Turkey and Iran.

They say it will demonstrate that the region is behind their government and recognises that it must be strengthened, because there is no good alternative to holding Iraq together as a pluralistic, integrated and democratic country, Zebari said.

“We are building a strong case that if you care (and) if you want to help the people of Iraq, the elected, legitimate Iraqi government, you should show some tangible support,” said Zebari.

“It will send a good signal to ... ease this tension, this violence, and it will send a message to the insurgents, the terrorists, who will see that Iraq is managing to deal with its neighbours constructively” and that the region is “unified to help this country recover,” he said.

Zebari said the series of high-casualty bombings in Baghdad in the past few days was expectable and expected. Sunni insurgents are striking before the new security offensive gets under way.

Forming a regional consensus behind the Iraqi government has become more difficult as fighting inside Iraq has become more sectarian.

Sunni Arab countries, like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have displayed a hesitant attitude toward Iraq. The death-squad killings of Sunnis, attacks against Arab embassies and diplomats in Iraq, and the hanging of Saddam Hussein have strained the government’s image in the Sunni Arab world.

But probably the core problem is the fear that Iran exercises too much influence over the new Iraqi leadership.

Iraqi leaders here, however, argue that although the political coalition supporting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is Shia-based, it is an Arab and Iraqi national government first, and even Shia members are far too loyal to Iraq to be willing to turn the country into an extension of the Iranian political system.

If Arab states remain standoffish, however, it could drive Iraq closer to Iran, the leaders here warned, on and off the record. That is why they consider it essential that the Arab neighbours of Iraq engage the government directly, and not yield to the temptation to deal directly with Sunni groups within Iraq.

Iran and Syria were said to have already agreed to the meeting, along with at least one Gulf country. But Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa appeared to be holding back – saying at one open session here that the more important thing was for Iraqi leaders themselves to work to calm sectarian tensions.

Syria is a special case. Under President Bashar al-Assad, Syria is viewed as having failed to close the country’s border to jihadists and weapons flowing into Iraq, even while it trades with Iraq and voices support to the Iraqi government.

Some Iraqi leaders believe Syria has given sanctuary to members of Saddam’s regime and encouraged chaos in Iraq in hopes that the Baath Party might eventually return to power. The party shares a name, roots and philosophy with Syria’s own ruling party.

Iraq has mounted a diplomatic initiative with Damascus in recent weeks, with President Jalil Talabani and other officials visiting Damascus to warn Syria that Iraq knows what Syria has and has not been doing, and encouraging it to change. There are signs that the Syrians are more willing to cooperate, officials believe.

Iran’s aim in Iraq is somewhat different. It has agents and clients inside Iraq because it wants the current Iraqi government to survive, and hopes to have a large amount of political influence within it. It also likes having American forces kept pinned down in Iraq, both to help keep Iraq together and also so that US troops cannot easily be turned against Iran.

The Iraqi government would like to convince both Syria and Iran separately and on different levels that these dangerous games cannot continue.

“The stakes are too high really and everybody has pushed the envelope too far. God forbid if Iraq were to break down or to fail, the threat of spillover is imminent to their countries,” said Zebari. “That is why everything has really reached to some climax.”

The new security offensive in Baghdad also is critical. All the leaders here said they were putting high hopes on its success, in spite of the bloody attacks of the past week. They rate its chances higher than previous efforts to clean up the capital because Iraqis will be in charge, and the government has everything at stake.

Zebari, a Kurd, said the offensive would be even-handed across ethnic and sectarian lines.“This time it is different because US officers would be embedded with all Iraqi units so that is a precaution to prevent ... going astray or to settle their own sectarian differences,” said Zebari.

“We are not expecting that car bombs or suicide bombers will disappear completely,” said Zebari. “But I think it will give the people some confidence that the government and the coalition are doing something really serious.”—AP