Iraq Press Roundup

The daily Al Sabah newspaper said in its editorial Tuesday that Hezbollah's taking over part of Beirut reminds us of similarities with the situation in Iraq.

The editorial, headlined "Hezbollah and the situation in Iraq," said that militias call for fighting the "enemy" and defending the country. The paper also said such calls aim to win the public over in order to achieve other purposes moved by sectarian interests, "remnants of the dictatorship," and religious groups that back the militias.

"Every militia has ties with regional countries that strategically and financially support them. …These militias are being revived outside the law of state authority, which is, in most cases, weak and unable to control the opposed factions," it said.

The paper highlighted the role of the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah, which has become bigger and more dangerous because of external circumstances presented by Israel.

"Hezbollah figures used Israel to gain the support of the public until they formed a state within a state, with weapons forcing those who oppose them to take Hezbollah's side," it said.

It said that through regional conflicts between Israel and the United States, and between Iran and Syria, agreements among militias and governments are hard to obtain because of opposing ideologies.

In Iraq, Al Sabah said, militias follow the same ideology as Hezbollah under the excuse of "fighting the occupier" and accusing government members of being unpatriotic. It said Iraqis have to examine the Lebanese experiment carefully in order to learn their lesson.

"If the Iraqi government is serious about ridding Iraq of militias, they have to avoid the American-Iranian conflict … to prevent the birth of another militia," it said.

The newspaper added that Iraqis don't want the example of Lebanon to be created in Iraq.

The editorial accused Saudi Arabia of supporting Saad al-Hariri's Al Mustaqbal political party in Lebanon because Hariri is Sunni, and accused Iran of supporting Hezbollah because it is a Shiite party.

The paper concluded that Iraqis must realize that the situation in Lebanon could be the future of Iraq without a light at the end of the tunnel.

"Iraqis should be wiser and should build their future without empty slogans or historical … influence," the daily said.