Iraq Press Roundup

Although the U.S. invasion of Iraq is considered a "success," most people describe it as an extreme failure. The lesson the U.S. administration has to learn is that lengthening the time of the occupation is unlikely to guarantee any future success.

The United States leaving Iraq, after failing, is more shameful than giving up the fight in Vietnam, if not more, the Shabab al-Iraq news Web site said Friday.

America in Iraq …The hardship of staying and the crisis of exiting

The continuous failure has exceeded what President George Bush announced when he said that Saddam Hussein is gone but the war hasn't ended. The lack of a light at the end of the tunnel in Iraq resulted in the critical withdrawal of Bush supporters.

Objective analysis of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has led many to state with confidence that Bush has only brought wars and conflicts to the world. By voting for Bush again in 2004, the people of the United States voted for more wars.

The invasion of Iraq is a complete deadlock. This is not merely a statement of opposition to U.S. policy, the newspaper said. It is evident in the acknowledgment that the U.S. troops in Iraq do not know why or who they are fighting.

Five years into the occupation of Iraq, many Americans sense that the U.S. administration has sent them to the wrong war.

Many analysts say the U.S. troop withdrawal has already started because of international pressure, which could result in chaos if it took place before Iraq is secured. At the same time, other powers in the region are waiting for the U.S. role in Iraq to end so that they begin implementing their own agendas there.

The 2008 U.S. presidential convention and its allegations are a topic discussed in several Iraqi newspapers. Debates on who is going to "make a change" or make no change at all is discussed with an increased sense of awareness.

Following the presidential convention, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is not preferred because he is too much of a capitalist. On the other hand, John McCain, the Republican nominee, is a monopolist, the liberal al-Ahali newspaper said Friday.

The competition of the geniuses bidding for the White House

McCain is trying to assure people around the world he is a "genius" to generate a positive turnout for him in the coming presidential elections. In doing so, he is giving many interviews to compete with his rival, Obama.

In his attempt to find solutions to world conflicts, McCain suggested he would alleviate the drought in the African continent by setting up factories in the Alps to export ice to Africa. He didn't mention if he would do the same to solve the lack of electricity in Iraq.

McCain also insisted on the role of the United States in solving the crisis of the borders between the two "neighboring" countries of Iraq and Pakistan. It was one of his advisers who corrected him. There are no borders between the two counties.

He also said that if he were elected president of the United States, he would solve the crisis in Darfur by putting pressure on the government of "Somalia," rather than Sudan.

McCain also showed his interest in building a relationship between the United States and Czechoslovakia, not realizing that it was divided into two separate countries 13 years ago. He also thinks that a Moskvitch car, an automobile brand from Russia, is from Mexico.

The point here, the newspaper said, is how critical the situation would be if McCain became the president of the United States, as he would become the "president" of Iraq as well. Having a president like McCain to lead the U.S. and the Iraqi forces would be a disaster.

Many U.S. officials continue to visit countries all over the Middle East, especially Iraq. The latest was a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Baghdad on Aug. 21.

Similar to earthquakes, Rice visited the politicians of the new Iraq unexpectedly. This visit, and the previous ones, was to alleviate confusion in establishing a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, al-Basaer newspaper of the Association of Muslim Scholars said Friday.

Dr. Rice is in Baghdad for the abortion

The last time Rice visited Baghdad was in April 2008 to supervise Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in carrying out a massacre against members of the Sadrist Movement.

The Sadrist Movement is an ideological group opposed to the Iraqi and U.S. governments. At the beginning of this year, Maliki carried out a campaign against them that resulted in the killing and displacement of hundreds of people.

The visit by Rice earlier this year was to confirm that there is no split among Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites.

If members of any party called for ending the occupation of Iraq, they would be targets for assassination. By implementing a campaign against the Sadrists who supported him in the past, Maliki allowed the occupation forces to surround Sadr City with walls so that it is easy for them to arrest the residents there.

Rice has only accomplished bringing the parties that already supported the occupation closer together. Her last visit to solve disputes over the timetable for withdrawal and put pressure on the Iraqi parties to sign a long-term security agreement is a step toward passing the oil law.

Discussing the importance of the timetable, Rice neglected the fact that mercenaries and the private security contractors, who could form an official army, would stay in Iraq forever.