Foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbors -- Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, and Kuwait -- as well as those of Egypt and current Arab League chair Bahrain met in Riyadh Friday to mull the post-Saddam Iraq.

Among eight countries at the first postwar regional forum was Syria, now under U.S. pressure for allegedly sheltering aides of Saddam Hussein and developing chemical weapons -- Syria categorically rejects the accusation.

The meeting discussed the impact of the new geopolitical realities in the region brought about by the ouster of Saddam's regime and the presence of hundreds of thousands of U.S. and British troops in and around Iraq.

Iraqi reconstruction was also on the agenda, and the ministers also focused on much-needed humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people especially in the medical sector.

The Riyadh meeting called for the establishment of a national Iraqi government from a broad political spectrum. The eight countries also discussed how to deal with a U.S. military administration which Washington is preparing to install in Baghdad.

Regional Islamic states have rejected the appointment of a U.S. military ruler in Iraq, maintaining that no government in Baghdad would be recognized until it reflected the free will of the Iraqi people.

Almost all the Middle Eastern nations want the U.S. and British occupation to end immediately. They also want Iraqis to elect their own government with help from neighboring states.

Iraq's neighbors are concerned that the United States will install a puppet regime in Baghdad that would ally itself with Israel, shutting out the United Nations and ignoring regional powers.

Calling for an end to the U.S. occupation, they have urged the occupation forces to respect the Geneva conventions in restoring law and order to Iraq. They have also called for respecting Iraq's unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

While rejecting U.S. threats against Syria and expressing their solidarity with Damascus, some Arab nations hold that Israel is instigating the U.S. campaign on Syria to force it to expel Palestinian resistance fighters to change the balance of power in Israel's favor.

The U.S. administration should respect the will of the Islamic states and the world for ending its occupation of Iraq to let Iraqi's decide their fate, give a major role to the UN in Iraq's reconstruction and cease its accusations against Syria.

Occupation is costlier than operation. If the occupiers heed this lesson, it will be both to their benefit and that of the world.