Iraq Press Roundup

In its editorial, the daily Al Sabah Newspaper said Wednesday the years prior to the fall of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship in April 2003 were the worst in the new history of Iraq, a situation timed with the existence of natural resources that were used to kill and oppress people.

The editorial with the title "The fall of statue and the victory of will" said Saddam didn't use Iraq's resources to rebuild or revive lives but as a tool to politically terrorize people.

"Saddam, through the time he ruled Iraq, used the support of criminals and killers who then became well-known leaders," it said.

It said the fact Saddam planned to release prisoners as his last card before his fall was proof that he used criminals to achieve his goals. It also said the killing, looting and kidnapping operations that happened after the invasion were done by elements that joined the U.S. forces when they entered Iraq.

"It is illogical" the paper said, "that the U.S. forces allowed looters to steal, burn and destroy Iraq's governmental institutes while they stood there watching them."

It said most of these criminals and thieves were given positions in the current Iraqi government and they hide most of the records on killings and other atrocities.

"Many armed groups are accused of committing crimes performed by Iraqi forces," it said.

"The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced that 190,000 pieces of weapons were missing and given to the armed militias, raising the rate of violence," it said.

Al Sabah said the United States chose the sectarian solution to rebuild Iraq, a continuation of the British policy when Britain occupied Iraq during World War I.

It said history proved sectarian policies would only result in a greater loss of Iraqis and eliminate the concept of tolerance among the people of Iraq.

"Five years after the drop of Saddam's statue, Iraqis keep sacrificing thousands of souls as a price for democracy," it said.

The paper said Iraqis gave the Iraqi government and U.S. forces more than one chance to assist them in improving the situation. The Iraqi people participated in elections, it said.

"When the Iraqi people took part in the elections, they did so because they built hope on the Iraqi leaders to have the capability to defend the oppressed rights and to preserve the law," it added.

It also said the Iraqi people are looking forward to fast economic reforms to treat the deteriorating living situation and to administrative reforms to dismiss corruption that would result in reconstruction.

Real democracy is to accept others and is the only solution that will end challenges and allow all sides to live in peace, the paper said.