Malaysia to help resolve Middle East crisis

I only had 2 hours of sleep... So, this post may be a bit muddled... Maybe the lack of sleep has contributed to me getting a little disturbed by a news article today, about our esteemed PM... The story says that Bush called on the PM to help out with the Iraq problem... And our PM has agreed to help out in whatever way we can...

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/19/nation/20061219155217&sec=nation

Political grand standing. Our PM has jumped in, head first, into the Iraq mess, when there are other problems back home that require his urgent attention.

Firstly, why is Bush suddenly asking the OIC for help when he has never ever bothered to consult them about things before? Before this, he has always gone to his allies for help and unfortunately, most of his allies aren't members of the OIC. Maybe this be his way of indirectly approaching Iran and Syria to help, without actually asking help from countries that he has branded as the "axis-of-evil". If this is the case, our PM plays the role of a political messenger.

Secondly, does this signal a policy change in the whitehouse? Because if it does, we shouldn't be walking into the mess. If the current occupation forces are planning a "cut-n-run", the OIC would end up being straddled with the task of mop up. The OIC should not be stuck with cleaning up a mess that it did not create. And we, certainly, should not be "leading" the clean up crew. I do not believe that we have the necessary resources to be stuck with the job.

Thirdly, has our country anything to gain by taking on the risk of getting involved? Iraq, by any measure, is a mess. Anyone jumping into the situation without completely understanding it, is liable to get seriously hurt. And with the situation as it is now, it's unlikely that anyone has really any idea of what's happening. I do not believe that we have any business to do with Iraq and I certainly hope that we do not get entangled in it.

I can understand the mid-east nations wanting to get involved, as I'm sure that they are worried about spill-over effects when the situation there gets worse. I'm also supportive of any efforts to bring stability and peace to the Iraqi people. However, the question is, why are we taking the lead and getting involved?

PS. I'm not a political analyst. So, these are probably baseless, random, rants. Large doses of salt!