Iraq Press Roundup

Al Mada newspaper in an editorial Monday headlined "When is the U.S. going to admit that Israel has nuclear weapons?" said Iran was not the country creating an "arms race" in the region.

"This competition has existed since a long time ago," it said.

It agreed with U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that there shouldn't be nuclear weapons in the Middle East because having them in this part of the world "is more dangerous than having it anywhere else in the world."

"Any country that considers having or developing nuclear weapons should consider severe diplomatic reactions, but at what point is that going to apply to Israel, too?" the paper asked.

It said there shouldn't be any use of military force to prevent countries from having these weapons because that would have devastating results.

"President Bush and Brown … shouldn't be giving lectures and instruct others on how not to allow others to have these kinds of weapons," the paper said.

"But if it is dangerous to own the nuclear weapons," it said, "then why does neither Bush nor Brown ever mention Israel's … 60-80 nuclear heads?"

It said the United States was violating laws by supporting Israel despite its possession of nuclear weapons and said Israel's policy of ambiguity about its nuclear programs allowed Washington to support it.

It said though Israel never undergoes nuclear inspections, "inspectors seal uranium facilities in Iran and threaten Iran when it doesn't collaborate."

Baghdad-based Al Sabah newspaper carried an editorial with the headline "Agreement between Washington and Baghdad has three parts."

It said the Iraqi government will announce soon an agreement with the United States under the title "announcement of intentions" that will focus on political, economic and security.

"This agreement will consider supporting the Iraqi government and the political process as the first article," it said.

Defense Ministry spokesman Sami al-Askari told the paper the agreement has three parts: "a political one that obligates the U.S. to promise the Iraqi government to protect the constitution and confront coups against the constitution as well as support the Iraqi government in its projects of political reconciliation."

The second part consists of the economic side, which requires the activation of the "international agreements" to drop Iraqi debts, help it recover and encourage U.S. investments in Iraq.

The third part of the agreement includes security issues in that the United States must help Iraq build its military and security force and institutions as well as secure the Iraqi borders with the neighboring countries.

The paper added that Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdul Mehdi said the "agreement verifies the Multi-National Forces existence in Iraq and restricts the relationship between the U.S. and Iraqi governments."

Al Sabah said that Abdul Mehdi "denied" the agreement means "building permanent U.S. bases in Iraq."

He said the MNF would stay in Iraq longer but "this extension will be the last before Iraq gains its full sovereignty."