Iraq Press Roundup

The al-Basaer newspaper of the Association of Muslim Scholars in its Thursday editorial said the scenario envisioned by U.S. President George Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki regarding the timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal is only meant to anesthetize the Iraqi people.

Written under the headline "Changing the names will not change the equation," the editorial said the timetable agreed on by Bush is subject to failure before he leaves the "Black" House.

The editorial said the long-term security arrangement in negotiations between Maliki, the other politicians of "modern" Iraq and Bush is just noise that coincides with Bush leaving office.

It criticized Iraqi politicians by citing the former civilian administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, who referred to Maliki and the new Iraqi politicians as a "bunch of lazy mercenaries."

"These mercenaries will soon lose their supporters in the new era, being the time of freedom, democracy and the American way, and they will lose their Godfather as soon as Bush leaves his Black House," the weekly al-Basaer said.

The editorial noted discussions between Bush and Maliki coincide with a visit to Iraq by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"The visit by the second occupier Brown only added lies and vain justifications to the crimes against humanity committed by Bush and his failed attempts to repair the image of Britain after it was deformed by Tony Blair," it said.

Al-Basaer said the Iraqi Parliament was unaware of serious discussions taking place between Maliki and Bush, while lawmakers set about passing the provincial elections law.

It said the Iraqi lawmakers were distracted by the return to Parliament of the Sunni Accordance Front, while at the same time reports circulated about major internal disputes regarding the provincial elections.

"Suggestions by Kurdish politicians to postpone the elections brought relief from the people of Kirkuk when Kurdish President Massoud Barzani, who threatened to lodge a call to partition Iraq if Kirkuk were not designated a Kurdish city," the newspaper said.

"While these political developments are taking place, the U.S. occupation forces, with the support of the Iraqi military, prepared to carry out a campaign in the northern city of Basra, claiming to chase down the armed groups. In the meantime, similar operations started in Diyala," the newspaper said.

During these campaigns, Iraq experienced "tourist" visits by prominent figures in the U.S. Congress and other politicians who still "fantasize" about the U.S. project in Iraq, the editorial said.

The most noteworthy visit was by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who was followed by major international media outlets to cover his "historic" visit, the newspaper said.

The Saudi-based newspaper concluded the Iraqi people all the while have continued to suffer from the lack of local services, such as electricity and functional sewage systems.