Iraq Press Roundup

Kitabat newspaper carried an editorial Tuesday with the headline "Annapolis is a fall for Arabs, a spring for Israel and a disaster for Iran."

It said the Annapolis conference took place as the sectarian crisis softened and a semblance of security and stability agreement returned.

"The period also sees the appearance of militia and tribal allies instead of politicians being supported by the U.S.," the paper said.

It said the Annapolis conference was far away from its real agenda and this was realized by those who attended it.

"Palestinian President Abu Mazen expressed to the Saudi Prince Abdullah his pessimism of a successful conference due to Israel's reactions and the obstacles they always put on Palestine," it said.

They said the real topic between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is the agreement to form an alliance that extends from Europe to the Arab Gulf. It also mentioned the conference happened to naturalize the situation between Israel and the Arabs.

"Although the conference is not new, what makes it dangerous this time is it is directing it into a sectarian direction using the excuse that the Shiites in Iran are dangerous to the Sunni and the Arab world, which makes the Israeli presence less dangerous," it said.

"Iran's domination in the Arab and Islamic world is without it taking religion or sect into consideration. This domination for the U.S. combines sectarian, religious and national divisions," it said.

The editorial said the United States was using the conference to "bolster Fatah over Hamas."

It said if Fatah won against Hamas, it would mean the latter is an international outcast and can be bombed by Israeli missiles.

The editorial quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying of the Annapolis conference: "Who authorized the participating countries to talk on behalf of the Palestinians? ... The participants should stop taking part in such meetings because they don't guarantee the Palestinians rights. … The goal of carrying out such conferences is to violate the rights of the Palestinian people."

The paper said the goal of such conferences was for the United States to divert people's attention away from the essential issues in the region.

"The most important thing in these conferences is the time behind closed doors," it said.

During this time, it said, participants negotiated and bet on people's blood and Arab, Islamic, Asian and African money and honor.