The delegates to the conference arrived in Munich expecting to discuss a wide range of issues, including the implications of the Arab Spring. But as the meeting concluded, the best sound bites were all about Syria: the killing of hundreds of protestors by government troops on Saturday, and Russia and China's opposition to UN efforts to halt Assad's crackdown.

Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman said the two powers, who are allies of Syria, shared moral culpability for the human rights abuses of the Assad government.

"The war al-Assad is leading is a war on humanity," said Karman, who was invited to speak to the conference because of her work organizing the pro-democracy opposition in Yemen. "The human consciousness cannot rest when you see the patient and peaceful people - their blood is shed on the streets. We are looking forward to the victory of the Syrian people. "

Karman called on Arab countries to expel Syrian ambassadors and said the Syrian people were expecting the international community to take action. The United Nations estimated that some 6,000 have died because of violence in Syria.

Other delegates joined Karman in expressing their dismay at the ineffectiveness of the United Nations on Syria.

The director of the organization Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, said the Russian-Chinese veto had rendered the United Nations "irrelevant." Hamadi Jebali, the democratically elected prime minister of Tunisia, accused Russia and China of misusing their veto power in the Security Council.

And the foreign minister of Qatar, Khalid al-Attiyah, compared the veto to a "license to kill" for the Assad regime.

Turkish involvement

The rhetoric of condemnation may have been fierce, but suggestions about the next concrete steps on Syria were few.

Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, whose country has already taken around 12,000 Syrian refugees, drew applause from delegates by promising his country would offer those fleeing the violence a "safe haven." But he denied rumors that Ankara and Washington were already discussing contingency plans for possible military action against Syria.

Independent United States Senator Joe Lieberman went further. He said the United States should look into providing military and other aid to Syrian rebels, including the nascent Syrian Free Army, and accused Russia and China of being "on the wrong side of history."

But the hawkish senator also said the United States should investigate what could be done in conjunction with the Arab League.

No reason to fear Islamists

The delegates generally agreed that countries across the Arab world faced enormous challenges building up institutions to guarantee democracy and the rule of law. Economic and social problems were also expected to compound those difficulties.

But delegates from the Arab world also sought to assuage unease in the West at recent Islamist electoral success in Tunisia and Egypt.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr said that support for ultra-conservative Salafist candidates was based on their charitable social work and predicted that they would either grow more moderate or disappear from the political landscape.

Along with the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafists emerged as the strongest political force in Egypt after parliamentary elections, which concluded in January.

Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali echoed those sentiments, pointing out that elections had given Islamists legitimacy whether the West Liked it or not.

Concerns over Iran

Amidst all the other discussions, the topic of the future balance of power in the Arab world between Sunni and Shiite Muslims was less prominent.

Still, the majority of Arab delegates did say they preferred a negotiated solution to the continuing controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

Al-Attiyah, for example, said dialogue with Tehran should be increasingly transferred to the region itself.

But Lieberman was far more pessimistic, saying that American and European sanctions had thus far had no effect on Iran's position toward its nuclear program. The senator asserted that both parties in the US could potentially support a military strike against Tehran, if it was deemed the only way forward.

Author: Daniel Scheschkewitz / jc
Editor: Spencer Kimball