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You are here:  Home / Emerging Threats / Iraq Press Roundup

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Iraq Press Roundup

By HIBA DAWOOD, UPI Correspondent
Published: Nov. 8, 2007 at 2:09 PM
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The Association of Muslim Scholars’ Al Basaer newspaper carried an editorial with the headline "America attempts to improve its image for the world."

In details, the paper said people hate U.S. policy, which is to achieve U.S. interests by oppressing people.

"The fact is that the hatred of U.S. policy has been growing,” the paper said.

It said the United States might try to "beautify" its image by "whitening their lies" in the eyes of the world, spending millions of dollars to make that happen through its propaganda.

"Lincoln Group, an advertising company that was given $100 million to praise the U.S. administration in 2005, was able to publish more than 1,000 articles in Iraqi and Arab newspapers," the paper said.

The editorial said the scandal surrounding "buying writers," which was used to "whiten the U.S. face," was revealed at the end of 2005 when newspapers against the occupation uncovered it.

According to Al Basaer, the United States found in the chaos of occupied Iraq a good place to advertise its propaganda.

"Despite all of these attempts, the U.S. image didn't improve, especially in Iraq," it said.


Shabab al Iraqi newspaper carried an editorial Thursday with the headline, "Defending freedom and U.S. mercenaries."

The paper said in its editorial that when the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq took place in 2003, it was known the U.S. Army wasn't going to carry on the war without relying on private security companies that had vastly more experienced personnel.

“It wasn't a long time before killing accidents against Iraqis started to occur; accidents that violated human rights," the paper said.

It said most of these companies claimed to support international security and set up freedom and democracy by "defending the oppressed people who have no voice."

"These mercenaries form, and work in, 60 different private security companies," the paper said.

Taking Blackwater USA as an example, the paper said, "A decade after this company was established, it opened bases in more than nine countries to form the biggest private army that has its own heavy and light weapons."

The paper said that over the last few months the U.S. Congress and the White House have begun to acknowledge the danger private security companies can cause to their reputation.


Al Shabab newspaper said the reason the U.S. administration relies on private companies is because its soldiers are "exhausted" fighting on "multiple fronts" without breaks.

It said the other reason why the White House can't rely less on private security companies is the inability to impose the draft.

"By sending this many mercenaries, the U.S. administration doubles the real number of the U.S. Army without a need for an approval from the Congress or being restricted with 'the ethical commitments' of wars," it said.

"But many analyses," the paper said, "say the chaotic crimes committed by the private security companies are results of the U.S. policies if we acknowledge that tens of violations were committed first by the U.S. Army."



© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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