Iraq Press Roundup

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Shebab Al Iraq newspaper carried an editorial Thursday with the headline "The U.S. electoral contest and Iraq."

"Political radicalism reflects a lack of responsibility and ethics starting when Henry Kissinger neglected the Kurdish leadership's calls after announcing the Algiers Convention between Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran and the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein," the paper said.

The paper said Kissinger's behavior was irresponsible and unethical and that after he betrayed the Kurds, he abandoned Iran's shah and left him with no exile to go to or any assistance.

It said U.S. Democrats were committing the same mistakes by marketing a "dangerous belief" that relies on dividing the politically unstable country.

"Nowadays, Republican political statements in the U.S. lack the term 'democracy' and are replaced by terms such as 'moderate' or 'moderate representation.' … Thus, whenever the term 'democratic elections' is needed, it is replaced by other terms," the paper said.

It said these new transformations unveil the "sick" U.S. tendency to solve crises by tearing down entities as the case in Germany, Korea, Vietnam and Somalia that were turned into torn, weak entities.

"This U.S. tendency is present in Iraq especially with the assumption that the Democrats would win the presidential elections this year," it said.

It said that if the Democrats won, the Democratic copy of the U.S. State Department would turn the direction of events because of people like Sen. Joe Biden, Richard Holbrooke and Peter Galbraith.

The editorial said this team faces obstacles because President Bush's policy in Iraq is expected to have positive effects after the success of Gen. David Petraeus' strategy.

"The Republicans expect more success from the leadership on the ground in Iraq in order to thwart the Democrats; they need a success that would lead to a U.S. troop withdrawal only to pull the mat from under the Democrats' feet," it said.

The Association of Muslim Scholars' Al Basaer newspaper said Thursday that Iraq, through the years of the occupation, witnessed various agreements among sides that hated each other.

The editorial carried the headline "Clatter of agreement sheets" and said the occupier's will forced those "agreements."

"The truth of these agreements is without basis or roots. … These agreements took place to revive the political process that Paul Bremer brought to Iraq," it said.

The Saudi-based paper said these agreements are no more than pressure cards to be used by every side in order to achieve their personal goals.

"In the case of Kirkuk, petroleum contracts, dominating powers, and finding a way to rule … are the reason behind Iraqi politicians signing agreements," it said.