Iraq Press Roundup

The independent Kitabat newspaper in an editorial Tuesday by lawyer Majid Nimaa blamed the occupation and Iraqi lawmakers for the situation that led to a non-binding U.S. Senate resolution calling for the division of Iraq.

It defined the Iraqi federation using international law and U.N. conventions. It said international law prevented the United Nations from interfering in the internal affairs of countries.

"The most important concept here is the recognition of sovereignty as a tool to organize international relations, which is inconsistent with U.S. Senate resolution to divide Iraq,” the editorial said.

The Senate’s move is a "clear interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and a violation of its sovereignty," it said.

The issue was also tackled by the Kurdish Al Ahali newspaper in a front-page piece by Haval Zakhobi.

"As soon as the project -- that didn't really have the word ‘division’ -- was decided, we rose and TV channels made us think that tomorrow Iraq would be divided into three states,” he wrote.

The editorial said "Iraqis don't deal with situations in a logical way."

The editorial said Iraqis love their country and are against divisions.

"We have the right to be against any project that aims to divide our country,” he said. “We refuse to have our country as a cooked sheep put on a table with everybody pulling some meat off," the editorial said.

The editorial asked, "Who is dividing Iraq? Isn't it our current policies? Our disagreements? Our inconsistency, our way of thinking, our narrow view, our intolerance are all behind the division we live already."

The editorial ended by addressing Iraq's leaders: "Let's assume that the word 'division' is included in the U.S. project and let's disagree with it because we don't want to divide our country; what is your National Unity project? Present to us other options so that we know you are against 'divisions.' We will appreciate it if you present a project that doesn't hide in its cracks your interests, though it is what you should have been doing all along.”