Baghdad to host Arab League summit in March

"The summit, if it is pulled off, would be a triumph for the Iraqi government, which has often been cold-shouldered by its Arab neighbors in the years after 2003, and has not hosted such a meeting in over 20 years. The relationship between Iraq and Saudi Arabia is notoriously cold. Nonetheless, Baghdad secured the right to host the summit and has moved forward with an intense campaign to accommodate the 22-member Arab states. Hotels are being refurbished and the government will have to prepare for any number of possible security threats, from mortars to suicide bombers."