Iraq Press Roundup

The Iraqi government and U.S. forces have been trying to track the resistance since 2004 and stop their attacks. While many think the resistance is no longer visible, others disagree.

The resistance has to choose one of four options, as each has its own characteristics, the Sunni al-Basaer newspaper of the Association of Muslim Scholars said Wednesday.

The Iraqi resistance and the four options

The first option for the resistance is to give up its weapons, which would happen only in the event of a victory over U.S. forces. Since the goal of ending the U.S. occupation forces is unrealized, disarming is out of the question.

The second option is to bring the resistance into the political process under the banner of national reconciliation. But since the resistance is against the Iraq occupation, it rejects all factors related to the political process, such as the constitution and sectarian government.

The third option is for the resistance to keep carrying out its attacks at the same rate. However, to escape attacks, U.S. forces hide behind the Iraqi army and the Sons of Iraq, paramilitary groups supported by the U.S. forces to fight al-Qaida. As a result, attacks by resistance movements came to target Iraqis and not the mutual enemy of all, the U.S. occupation. This option is of no advantage to the resistance because it delays its plans for evicting occupation forces.

Waging a major battle is the fourth option. Throughout history, occupation forces were forced out with extensive battles. It took the Vietnamese 40 days of major fighting to force U.S. forces out of the country. If the Iraqi resistance were able to take over U.S. military bases in Iraq, the White House would ask for negotiations. That way the Iraqi resistance would achieve its main goal.

Iraq has become a "democratic" country after the U.S. invasion. While the government calls for equality and unity, many Iraqis experience inequality between the Shiite majority that dominates the government and the minorities from other religions and ethnic groups.

The discrimination from the majority in the Iraqi government turns democracy into nothing more than a motto, al-Ittihad newspaper of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said Wednesday.

Secularism preserves religious and ethnic groups and keeps them out of politics

Iraqi minority groups have fewer rights and less equality than those from other religions. Democracy, however, became an idea hard to implement in a country accustomed to discrimination.

On the other hand, secularism is based on freedom of individuals and considers all human beings as equals. It calls for equality among people regardless of race or religion.

Most of the conflicts in Iraq are caused by divisions between different ethnic and religious groups. The Assyrians, a northern Semitic people, for example, are discriminated against and marginalized, even though they are among the original people of Iraq. In the new Iraq, however, they are forced out of the country.

On a broader scale, problems in Kirkuk city are caused by the diverse religions and ethnic groups there. Kurds, Arabs, Turkomen, Chaldeans, Assyrians and Mandeans, and others, face ethnic cleansing campaigns. Without secularism, the paper said, a solution for Kirkuk is impossible.

The U.S. elections draw international attention because for the first time in the history of the United States, the Democratic Party backed a woman, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, and an African-American, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, as candidates for the presidency, the independent Addustour newspaper said Wednesday.

The talks for a "change" in the U.S. elections

Because of wars that filled rivers with tears and blood, people around the world hope the elections would get the supporters of U.S. President George Bush out of the White House. Bush's policy turned Iraq into a massive grave and put people on the verge of collapse because of the war against "terrorism."

People should remember, however, that the elections will change only the faces in Washington, not the policies. If Obama wins, the paper said, the change would only be in representing the African-Americans.

Conservatives represented in former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others are the ones who called for democracy in Iraq, but they supported the most radical and oppressive governments in the Middle East. The imperial policies of Washington will remain the same, even if the Democrats win the election.

When Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, and Obama talked about "change," each referred to it based on his own agenda. While McCain claimed a change in the policies of the conservatives, Obama called for change in securing Israel and supporting the development of its military capacity.

When the United States carried out wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, the government didn't consider public opposition to these wars. The coming elections will only legitimize the status quo.