Iraq Press Roundup

Shebab Al Iraq newspaper said Monday the U.S. Army was optimistic about "success" in Iraq.

The editorial -- with the headline "Does withdrawal from Iraq require 6 more years?" -- said while the majority of people in Iraq and the United States want a U.S. withdrawal, most members of the military think that will require another six years before the United States achieves its goals.

Citing a poll by the Military Times magazine of 5,000 readers, it said 62 percent expressed optimism about U.S. "success" in Iraq; that figure was 50 percent last year.

"There are many transformations that led to the new result such as the change in the Pentagon leadership and the increase in U.S. troops as well as the effect of the comforting news Gen. David Petraeus brought from Iraq," the paper said.

It said these factors completed the transformation of not only the military, but of public opinion as well.

It also said, according to the Military Times poll, 46 percent of the U.S. public supported the war in Iraq as against 41 percent in 2006.

"Due to President Bush's way of dealing with Iraq, only 40 percent of the public agrees with Bush's strategy in Iraq this year in comparison with 35 percent last year," it said.

The paper said there was a contrast between the military's and the public's points of view.

"According to the poll, 63 percent of the U.S. forces consider the necessity of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for six more years to 'achieve the demanded goals' while 53 percent of the U.S. public demands a withdrawal," the paper said.

It said U.S. public opinion does not believe that the invasion of Iraq deserves the given sacrifices, but that the military personnel believe this war will be a victory.

The Saudi-based Al Basaer newspaper said Monday in an editorial titled "Inside the trench" that the occupation projects of personal interests continue in the new year.

The paper said the occupiers are defeated and trying to achieve a safe existence through a technique created through five years. It said the year 2007 brought many defeats to the occupation forces.

"The occupiers have recorded that the year 2007 saw the largest number of casualties despite the improved situation in many cities in Iraq," it said.

It said the other source of defeat took place when the U.S. public began trusting Democrats more than the Republicans on Iraq.

"The Democrats had no cards to play … except the invasion of Iraq card," it said.

It said that in order for Democrats to win, they only present solutions on leaving Iraq.

The paper discussed other failures the U.S.-led invasion has brought.

"The failure of the Shiite militia's domination of Basra combined with the British withdrawal, and the two Kurdish parties demanding Kirkuk be a Kurdish city while Baghdad is separated by concrete walls to enlarge the gap of division, are events that signal the failure of U.S. policies in Iraq," it said.

It said the occupier-sponsored Iraqi political process is revenge upon the Iraqi people. The paper concluded that an occupier is not expected to build a country.

"Five years of occupation have given the people in the region a clear picture of the Iraqi resistance that scarifies in order to free their homeland," said the paper, which is backed by the Association of Muslim Scholars.