Al Sabah newspaper said in its editorial Monday it was a mistake to not realize Iraq was occupied by many sides.
The editorial, with the headline "Iraq: between two occupations," said the United States, the British, and their international partners are one group of occupiers. It said the maelstrom that followed the U.S. occupation of Iraq brought new occupiers who drew a "bloody map" from the north to the south of Iraq.
"Some pointed their guns toward the people for sectarian reasons; others took high positions in the government or Parliament using it to hurt the political process from inside," the paper said.
It added some of those in government gave their "military wings," militias loyal to them, the means to cause heinous crimes against the Iraqi people.
The editorial said there were Arab, regional and even international agendas on the Iraqi political field, presenting a more troublesome situation to the troubles Iraqis already face. It said troubles Iraqis suffer from are represented by U.S. military vehicles wandering through bloody streets, and airplanes that fire "mercy bullets" at the innocent.
The paper said it was peculiar that politicians were not listed as occupiers though they are linked to the terrorist pipeline. It said these "new occupiers" had drawn a deformed picture for others suggesting the real problem in Iraq was the influence of the Iranians.
"We are aware of the interference from neighboring countries in addition to non-neighboring countries ... except we haven't seen an Iranian tank in the streets of Iraq leaving behind a mass of dead bodies or Iranian helicopters with Iranian flags strike our sky day and night," Al Sabah newspaper said.
"In order to be fair, we have not forgotten that the pain Iraqis endure come from the American occupation as well as Arabs who issue fatwas to shed Iraqi blood under the name of the resistance."
It concluded that if the United States and its supporters were one occupation, the heinous sectarian occupation was as dangerous as the U.S. occupation.
Shebab Al Iraq newspaper said Monday in its editorial titled "Iraq: Scenarios for the present and future of the U.S presence" that a timetable for the U.S. forces to leave Iraq and the situation of the remaining troops contributed to the discussion in Washington about the U.S. role in Iraq.
The paper said of the discussion that it was based on the idea U.S. policy in Iraq resulted in success and that there was a need to find ways to preserve security improvements.
"Military planning for improvements doesn't change people's attitude toward the U.S. occupation," the paper said.
The editorial went on to discuss the possibility of preserving security improvements with a reduction in U.S. troops. It noted the Iraqi army was not ready to take over the security situation.
The paper said U.S. Gen. David Petraeus and top U.S. military officials discussed the situation of U.S. troops after the troop increase strategy, which aimed to improve the security situation.
"An evaluation of the U.S. troops' performance in Iraq is planned to after July," the paper said.
It said if President Bush didn't change his policy until he left the White House, the new president might go ahead with a large pullout, which could have a disastrous impact on the security situation. The paper said politicians in Washington say the ideal solution will be a gradual decrease of troops in order to allow the Iraqi forces to build.
"The discussion taking place in Washington now will reach a determinative point when Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker present their report on the situation in Iraq next April," it added.
"The goal this year is to reach a security agreement between the U.S. and Iraq in regard to the U.S. fighting al-Qaida, attacking militias supported by Iran, and the situation of the 24,000 Iraqis the U.S. holds in its prisons inside Iraq," the paper said.
The editorial said the Iraqi side was planning to have Iraqi lawyers with experience negotiate with the American side.
"This planning sounds logical when we listen to the statements from Iraqi and American politicians but if both don't take the political situation into consideration, they might reach another impossible process," the paper said.
