Iraq Press Roundup

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In its Friday editorial, the al-Ittihad newspaper of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said that until today, there has been no mutually agreed upon global definition of "terrorism" or "terrorist."

With the headline "Terrorism and resistance in Iraq," the editorial said even lawmakers at the major world powers have failed to reach an agreement on the specific definition of these terms.

The editorial said some people hold to the perception that a terrorist is tantamount to a freedom fighter, while others consider freedom fighters to be terrorists.

It noted that in many cases, terrorist leaders are treated and given the name of a "state leader" or a "man of peace."

"Terrorism existed in the world since recorded history and will be present as long as conflict exits between good and evil," the editorial said.

It described the United Nations as ignorant in its inability to find an inclusive definition of terrorism or sign an international agreement to combat the problem.

This editorial, the newspaper said, is not an attempt to find a common definition of terrorism but an attempt to analyze the depth of events thoroughly.

It said the security situation in Iraq during the last five years has many riddles and questions that need to be answered. One of these riddles is the notion that the Iraqi "resistance" has killed many more Iraqi civilians than American or British forces.

The newspaper of the party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani discredited the so-called resistance for its failure to adequately identify itself or reveal its source of support, training and funding.

"What resistance is it that kidnaps men and women and slaughters Arabs and Westerners, videotapes it and sells them on the market or posts them on the Internet?" the paper asked.

The editorial pointed to the 2004 executions of Margaret Hassan, the British national who directed humanitarian relief organization CARE International in Iraq, and 12 workers from Nepal as some of the victories claimed by the "resistance."

"The killers of these innocents and the thousands of other Iraqis are themselves victims of these criminals, fascists and terrorists. ... There is no way whatsoever that the groups that carried out these atrocious attacks belong to any religion or just principle," the newspaper said.

It also noted the U.S "occupation" is not an excuse to justify the crimes of terrorists committed against Iraqi civilians and foreign workers.

The newspaper accused remnants of the Fedayeen Saddam militia of Saddam Hussein of being thirsty for blood and noted they are the ones who gave a negative impression to the real resistance that is represented by Iraqi national and political powers.

There should have been major demonstrations not only in Iraq but also in the Arab and Islamic world to condemn these terrorism actions, it said.

It condemned the choice of the people to remain silent and oblivious to such atrocities carried out by these criminal groups.

"Silence and carelessness are equivalent to support and encouragement for more terror attacks against civilians, even if the majority of people disagreed with them," it said, in an attempt to encourage intellectuals and the public in the Arab and Muslim world to condemn the terrorist attacks.

It said that by not uniting the voice of the people against terrorist attacks, they are paying the price by sacrificing their freedom and democracy.

Arabs and Muslims who ignorantly mixed politics with religion, the editorial said, lost not only their political voice but their religious one as well.

The daily al-Ittihad concluded by saying the people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine have paid, and are still paying, the price for not taking serious action against radical movements during the past 30 years. As a result, it has become a crisis the people around the world suffer from today.